Kenya-Somalia maritime dispute: Whose sea is it anyway?

Xeerilaaliye Axmad A.Dahir oo Dacwaddii Badda laga Guddoomay

“African states have not really had a presence at sea, they haven’t had ships which control their waters, so to now have a state effectively owning parts of the sea, which it can divide up into blocks for oil and gas is very lucrative. But it creates a sense of grievance if you feel those boundaries haven’t been correctly drawn.”

Kenya wants to draw the line straight out into the Indian Ocean, whereas the Somali government wants to draw it perpendicular to the coast line.

The case at the Hague may have been avoided had Somalia’s coordinates and documents not been lost during the collapse of government in the 1990s.

A memorandum of understanding was also signed between the two neighbours in 2009,which for Kenya, had settled the matter.

“The feeling among Somalis is that this was a rushed process,” explains Walker.

But given that the Somali government has been rocked by instability ever since, many analysts struggle to see how Mogadishu can make a strong case against Kenya at the ICJ, not forgetting that Nairobi is an important ally in the fight against Al Shebab.

Maritime economy versus security

“When all is said and done, who is better placed to take advantage of the oil exploration facilities?” Asks security expert Andrew Franklin.

“Somalia and Kenya would be better placed to share resources and work together in gas exploitation,” he says.

Yet this exploration should not come at the price of security, warn experts.

In Somalia, piracy has often been the heavy sum.

Today, the situation has improved, but simmering border disputes could change that.

“It’s important for these border disputes to be resolved because it creates an area of uncertainty,” reckons Pottengal Mukundan, the head of the International Maritime Bureau in London. “And in these areas of uncertainty, particularly in weak states, you’re likely to have criminal elements that take advantage.”

Sharing resources

For Timothy Walker, maritime security would be enhanced by better cooperation between African states.

“The ICJ has had similar cases before and has successfully determined maritime boundaries.”

Cases like the one between Nigeria and Sao Tome Principe led to a successful joint development zone enabling the two countries to share their resources, he says.

For now, the ICJ must determine whether Kenya has a case to reject Somalia’s claim.

“We’re going to see a lot of precedence being set especially in terms of the principles in which future boundaries will be fixed.”

Source:en.rfi.fr