Katchatheevu dispute settled 50 years ago, no need to revisit it, says Sri Lanka

The dispute over Katchatheevu was settled 50 years ago and there is no need to revisit it, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said on Wednesday, The Times of India reported.

Sabry’s comments are the first official reaction by Sri Lanka to the recent political row in India over New Delhi having given up claims to the island in 1974.

“There is no controversy,” the newspaper quoted Sabry as saying in response to a reporters’ questions. “They [India] are having an internal political debate about who is responsible. Other than that, no one is talking about claiming Katchatheevu.”

Katchatheevu is a small uninhabited island in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka. Both India and Sri Lanka had laid claim over the island since at least 1921.

In 1974, the two countries signed an agreement demarcating their maritime boundary. It said that the boundary runs one mile off Katchatheevu’s western coast, effectively placing the island in Sri Lankan territorial waters.

Just in: First Reaction Kachchatheevu issue from Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka foreign minister @alisabrypc says, "this is a problem that was discussed and resolved 50 years ago, and there is no need to discuss it again"

Vdo ctsy: Hiru News pic.twitter.com/awzjlPZ0yJ— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) April 3, 2024

On Sunday, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised the Congress citing “new facts” that had...

Read more