Malawi threatens to take lake dispute to The Hague

The dispute between Malawi and Tanzania over ownership of Lake Nyasa is turning into a fully-fledged diplomatic row, with Lilongwe now threatening to take the matter to The Hague. Malawi accuses its neighbour of sabotaging dialogue on the matter. Tanzania this month asked for a postponement of the mediation talks. A report on the allAfrica site notes that the two countries have been engaged in a dispute over the ownership of Lake Nyasa (also known as Lake Malawi). Lilongwe says the boundary is the shoreline of the lake as established by Article 1(2) of the 1890 Anglo-German Treaty. Tanzania claims the boundary is the median line of the lake based on principles of customary international law. The two countries have different maps with Malawi showing it owns the entire lake while Tanzania puts a boundary in the middle of the water body.