SRI LANKA – INDIA India seeks to appropriate cobalt in the waters in dispute with Sri Lanka

Delhi has sought permission to explore a field near the Afanasy Nikitin seamount, which could fall under Colombo’s sovereignty. According to experts, however, India’s main objective is to prevent a greater Chinese presence in the region.

Colombo () – India is trying to secure exploration rights to an offshore cobalt deposit that could fall under the jurisdiction of Sri Lanka.

Delhi is motivated by competition with Beijing, but Colombo also plans to extract minerals critical for modern technologies, including those used for the energy transition. Cobalt, in particular, is used in batteries for laptops, smartphones and electric vehicles, but also in jet engines and gas turbines.

Concerned about the Chinese presence in the region, India had approached the International Seabed Authority (ISA), an organization based in Kingston, Jamaica, in January to obtain approval to explore the Afanasy Nikitin seamount, rich in cobalt, located in the center of the Central Indian Ocean, east of the Maldives, about 1,350 kilometers from the Indian coast. The ISA is an autonomous global body established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Generally the sovereignty of a country extends up to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from its coast, an area called the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and that only that country can exploit for economic purposes, although ships from other countries can circulate without obstacles. .

In 2009 Sri Lanka attempted to extend its control beyond 200 nautical miles by submitting a request to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), which has yet to respond. However, if it were accepted, Afanasy Nikitin would remain within the borders of Sri Lanka. The seamount is made up of 150 blocks distributed over 3 thousand square kilometers.

The CLCS has previously accepted various requests to extend the limits of the continental shelf, such as in the case of Australia, Norway and Pakistan, which have rights to maritime territories beyond 200 nautical miles from their coasts.

Navin Seneviratne and Mahesh Algama, experts in Maritime Law, explained to that “India’s decision is not aimed at immediate exploration, but rather corresponds to the desire to establish a foothold in the region to discourage any Chinese presence. Currently China, Germany and South Korea have contracts for exploration in deep waters in different parts of the Indian Ocean.”

Furthermore, they continued, “India’s maritime mining activities are at a nascent stage, although in recent years the country has demonstrated some ambition. In 2021, India launched a mission in the deep ocean with a budget of $500 million for a period of five years. In its request, India had expressed its intention to carry out detailed studies of geophysics, geology, oceanography, biology and environment in the next 15 years. In 2023, as part of the same initiative, the Indian government manufactured a deep-sea mineral exploration submersible, which will be used to explore and collect polymetallic nodules (see photo), known as manganese nodules, rock formations that contain minerals. important, such as cobalt.”

According to data published by the International Renewable Energy Agency, China currently controls 70% of the world’s cobalt and 60% of lithium and manganese, as well as other critical minerals. India has set a deadline of 2070 to achieve zero emissions. Access to minerals is essential, above all, to boost the clean energy industry.