USA, France will back Ivory Coast in maritime row – Expert

An International Relations Expert Vladimir Antwi-Danso has said the United States and France are likely to support Ivory Coast in the maritime row with Ghana.

The ex-British Colony wants the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea to declare that it has not encroached on the Ivorian territorial waters in the exploration of oil.

The two countries have had 10 rounds of talks since 2008 to iron out their differences over their oil production boundaries but to no avail.

The International Relations Lecturer at the Legon Center for International Affairs of the University of Ghana said border disputes were not new, but Ghana is failing to realise the “geo-political” implications of the matter.

“They got oil before we did but as soon as ours came in better quantity they raised a different flag… they took an antagonistic position. How come they, with anger, writing to individual operatives instead of the government?” he asked in an interview on Accra-based private station Citi FM.

According to him, Ghana took the details of oil exploration for granted hence the latest predicament. “There are a lot of things Ghanaians are oblivious to and not prepared for…since we first found oil some of us – researchers - made a lot of points that were ignored. There we go.”

Acknowledging that border disputes are not new, Dr Antwi-Danso said Ghana is doing the right thing by turning to the United Nation’s Tribunal on the Law of the Sea for an amicable solution although he doubts Ghana stands a chance to win support from most possible allies - US and France.

He said: “It’s always good to seek an opinion from a higher tribunal in matters like this as Ghana is doing with the United Nation’s Conference on the Law of the Sea. It’s better than fighting and going to war over resources…but it is better we could have avoided this.”

Attorney-General, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, on Tuesday assured oil firms operating in Ghana's oilfields that their businesses will remain intact even if Ghana loses the maritime boundary dispute it has filed against Ivory Coast.

Mrs Appiah-Opong said the former British Colony had no option than to resort to the international body to arbitrate in a move to "boost investor confidence.”