Katchatheevu island issue: India got Wadge Bank… agreement in good faith, say former diplomats

There is a sense of disquiet in Colombo and Delhi, as the BJP has raised the issue of Katchatheevu island in the last few days.  The Indian Express spoke to former Sri Lankan and Indian diplomats, who echoed that the government of the day at that time in 1970s had concluded the agreement “in good faith”, where both sides had “won some” and “lost some”.  A former Sri Lankan diplomat said that both Colombo and Delhi had taken the whole gamut of strategic bilateral ties between the two countries, as they negotiated the pact.

“It was a give and take, based on the realities of that time. And the objective was to settle the maritime boundary… it was done in good faith that the two countries would want to settle the claims, and move on,” a former Sri Lankan diplomat, who served in Delhi, told The Indian Express on condition of anonymity.