Sri Lanka would not cede the Katchatheevu islet, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath has said.
“We have our diplomatic channels open to resolve the issue, but what is certain is Sri Lanka will never agree to let go of a part of Sri Lanka which is Katchatheevu and established so by international law,” Herath on Thursday told Sirasa TV in response to a question on frequent arrests of Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters, according to a PTI dispatch.
India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on June 27 attributed the issue of Sri Lanka arresting Indian fishermen to an agreement signed during the Emergency, imposed in 1975, under which their rights for fishing in some specific areas were given up.
Minsiter Herath, however, brushed off the issue, saying that “rumblings” over the Katchatheevu issue are “political sparring between the BJP at the centre and the opposition Congress Party,” PTI has said.
Herath accused the Indian fishermen of venturing into Sri Lanka’s maritime border to do fishing near Katchatheevu, adding that they not only “plunder the fishing resources” but also damage sea plants.
“But we know for sure the central Indian government is not in favour of continuous illegal fishing in the Sri Lankan waters, Herath added.
The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats in several alleged incidents of illegally entering the island nation’s territorial waters.