The Foreign Ministry later in a statement said Bangladesh would lodge a formal protest with New Delhi about “the activities of the survey ship in Bangladeshi waters”. It added that Dhaka would ask for postponement of any “exploratory or development activity in adjoining areas till such time as the maritime boundary between the two countries is settled by mutual agreement.”

Bangladesh has disputes with India on territorial waters and the two countries held three-day talks on the issue this October after a gap of 28 years. Dhaka and New Delhi at that time agreed to hold further talks to settle the dispute, as they could not each a consensus on the mid-flow of the cross-boundary Hariabhanga River, considered crucial for demarcation of the maritime border.

Incidentally, a similar row broke out between Bangladesh and Myanmar last month after a South Korean firm escorted by Myanmar ships started exploration work off its coast.

After a military standoff, with mobilisation of warships in the Bay of Bengal and troops activated at the border by the two countries, Bangladesh and Myanmar held talks on maritime boundary, but they ended inconclusively.