Bangladesh: Why is St Martin's island in news and what Sheikh Hasina said

Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has brought up St Martin's Island in the past too, alleging that a foreign country was interested in setting up its military presence there

A letter allegedly from former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was circulating among supporters of her Awami League party over the weekend, suggesting that her ouster after 15 years in power was the result of pressure from the United States (US) regarding St Martin's Island in the Bay of Bengal.
 

"I could have remained in power if I had left St Martin's and the Bay of Bengal to America," the letter reportedly said.

Is the purported letter by Hasina authentic?

While the letter attributed Hasina's removal to her refusal to cede control of St Martin's island to Washington, Hasina's son, Sajeeb Wazed, said on Sunday that his mother had not made any statements before fleeing Dhaka on August 5 amid violent protests that led to hundreds of deaths.

 

Wazed's comments followed reports that Hasina was not allowed to address the nation by the Bangladesh Army and that her prepared speech allegedly accused the US of having a hand in her ouster. On social media platform X, Wazed posted, "The recent resignation statement attributed to my mother published in a newspaper is completely false and fabricated. I have just confirmed with her that she did not make any statement either before or since leaving Dhaka."

The recent resignation statement attributed to my mother published in a newspaper is completely false and fabricated. I have just confirmed with her that she did not make any statement either before or since leaving Dhaka

— Sajeeb Wazed (@sajeebwazed) August 11, 2024

Earlier reports had claimed that in her undelivered speech, Hasina had allegedly mentioned that her government would have survived had she handed over St Martin's Island to Washington.

However, while the alleged letter that has been the news in recent days might not be authentic, in the past, Hasina has made a similar accusation on record.

On June 21, 2023, during a media conference, then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had said that there would be no problem for her to hold on to power if she leased out Saint Martin's island. However, she had added, "I have no intention to go to power by selling the country's assets." Hasina also did not take the name of any country at that time.
 

Hasina, however, accused her main Opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), of having designs to cede the island. Hasina had said, "How did BNP come to power in 2001? They came to power by pledging to sell gas. Now do they want to sell the country or come to power by pledging to sell Saint Martin's island?" For its part, the BNP had described Hasina's statements as nothing more than "political strategy".

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller had denied Hasina's allegations, describing them as "not accurate". Miller had said that "no discussions" on taking over the island had taken place with the then Hasina-led government.

"We have never engaged in any conversations about taking over St Martin's Island," Miller had said, adding, "We value our partnership with Bangladesh. We strive to bolster our relationship by working together to promote democracy, including by supporting free and fair elections."

What is St Martin's Island and where is it located?

With an area of just 3 square kilometres (sq km), St Martin's Island, also known locally as "Narikel Zinzira" or "Coconut Island", is located in the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal.

According to the website of the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, Saint Martin's is located about 9 km south of the tip of the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf peninsula, and forms the southernmost part of Bangladesh. It is also about 8 km west of the northwest coast of Myanmar, at the mouth of the Naf River.

The coral reef island, which is completely cut off from mainland Bangladesh, is home to about 3,800 residents, most of whom are fishermen. St Martin's is reportedly Bangladesh's only coral island.

Location of St Martin's Island. Image credit: Google Maps

Why is St Martin's Island geopolitically important?

The US' alleged interest in St Martin's could be based on the fact that a base on the island would help Washington counter China's influence in the Indian Ocean. As explained by a recent India Today article, St Martin's location, its proximity to the Bay of Bengal, and its maritime boundary with Myanmar could be the reasons behind international interest in the island, particularly from the US and China. A military presence on the island would strengthen their capabilities in the region.

The crux of Hasina's allegations from June last year was also that the US wished to acquire St Martin's Island and build a military base there in exchange for helping the BNP come to power. According to Hasina, if the BNP came to power, it would sell the island to the US.

According to a report by Bangladeshi newspaper Prothom Alo, the geopolitical debate over the island goes back to at least the 1980s. On December 18, 1980, a Dainik Bangla report, titled "None will be allowed to establish naval base at Saint Martin's", had carried a statement by Bangladesh's foreign ministry, saying that the allegations by several political parties that a country had been allowed to set up a naval base at Saint Martin's were completely baseless.

There might also be some historical evidence of US interest in setting up a base on Bangladeshi soil.

Speaking to Prothom Alo last year, Bangladeshi writer and researcher Mohiuddin Ahmad had said that it was in February 1971 that he had first heard about allegations of leasing Bhola's Monpura island out to the US. According to Ahmad, Hasina's father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, had held a meeting with the US Ambassador to Pakistan, Josef S Farland, on February 28 that year, with pro-China Left leaning parties alleging at the time that the meeting was about giving the Monpura island to the US, in exchange for Washington's support.

In 1971, the West and East wings of Pakistan fought in the Bangladesh Liberation War, leading to the creation of Bangladesh on December 16, 1971. However, Bangladesh's Independence Day is celebrated on March 26 because Mujibur Rahman had declared independence from Pakistan on that date in 1971. The Bangladesh Liberation War started on March 26 and lasted till December 16, 1971.

What is Saint Martin's island's history and current status?

The Saint Martin's island's recorded history dates back at least to the eighteenth century, when Arabian merchants first settled there and named it "Jazira".

A British team of surveyors included the island as a part of then British India in 1900 and named it either after a Christian priest, called Saint Martin, or the then Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong, Mr Martin.

The island continued to be a part of British India when Myanmar was separated from it in 1937. After the 1947 Partition of the Indian subcontinent, the island came under Pakistan's control.

Subsequently, the island became a part of Bangladesh after the 1971 Liberation War. And, in 1974, Bangladesh and Myanmar reached an agreement, under which the island was recognised as a part of Bangladeshi territory.

Despite the 1974 agreement, issues did continue over the delimitation of the island's maritime boundary, with a landmark 2012 judgment by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea subsequently affirming Bangladesh's sovereignty over the island.  

While the Department of Environment of Bangladesh had announced in 1999 that the island was an ecologically critical area, Bangladeshi media reports say that hotels and resorts have been constructed there in violation of the laws.

A 2020 article published in the Ocean Science Journal had also warned that the island could be totally coral free by 2045.