About St Martin’s Island

• St. Martin’s Island is located in the northeastern region of the Bay of Bengal, near the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar.
• It lies about 9 kilometers south of the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf peninsula in Bangladesh.
• The island is approximately 7.3 km long and is mostly flat, with an elevation of about 3.6 meters above mean sea level.
• It is Bangladesh’s only coral island and is surrounded by coral reefs that extend 10-15 km to the west-northwest of the island.
• Historical Background:

• • The island was originally part of the Teknaf peninsula but gradually submerged into the sea around 5,000 years ago.
  • It resurfaced approximately 450 years ago.
  • Arab merchants were among the first settlers in the 18th century. They named it “Jazira” and later “Narikel Jinjira” (Coconut Island).
  • In 1900, British India annexed the island, and it became known as St. Martin’s Island, named after a Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong.

PYQ:

[2023] Consider the following pairs:

Area of conflict mentioned in news: Country where it is located

1.Donbas: Syria

2.Kachin: Ethiopia

3.Tigray: North Yemen

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None