Use dialogue, not threats to solve Kenya, Somali maritime dispute

Kenya and Somalia have in the past few months shown some sort of sibling rivalry that has at times bordered on the absurd. The two neighbours have been locked in a dispute over their maritime boundary, with both claiming a narrow 100,000-sq km triangle of sea that the countries believe contains significant deposits of oil and gas.

Halfhearted attempts at negotiating a truce resulted in Somalia filing a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The court case, whose spirit is evidently to seek justice, has resulted in an unfortunate series of events that threaten to muddy relations between these two countries. As neighbours joined at the hip, it was pointless to let this matter get to ICJ. After all, it is hard to imagine that these two nations, with so much to live for would find it impossible to sit by the sea and over a cup of tea reach an agreement over the contested area.