[InKunming--Sister Cities]  The Maldivian government may reject a request from neighboring Sri Lanka to allow their boats access to Maldives waters unless prior permission is obtained, local media reported Thursday.

The Maldives Fisheries Ministry released a press statement to refute the possibility of granting Sri Lankan government's request at the Maldives-Sri Lanka Joint Committee meeting this week.

The ministry said that the Sri Lankan government had always requested for arrangements to be made so that Sri Lankan vessels did not have to take any prior permission to cross Maldivian territorial waters on their way to the Arabian Peninsula, but that the government would not be granting them their request.

Sri Lanka External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris had made the request for the right of passage for Sri Lankan fishermen through Maldivian waters as a means of access to the high seas, at the Joint Commission with the Maldives.

"The Maldivian government's answer has always been for Lankan vessels to conform to rules and regulations set under Maldives Fisheries Act and other relevant laws,"said the statement. "The Maldivian government assures its citizens that we will not agree to anything that might have an adverse effect on the Maldivian fishermen or the fisheries industry, the independence and sovereignty of the country, or the country's economy."

A high level delegation of government officials have travelled to Sri Lanka to attend the 6th Maldives-Sri Lanka Joint Commission meeting, including Foreign Minister Dhunya Maumoon.

The commission was established to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries, in several areas including maritime security.

Sri Lanka is also embroiled in a fisheries tussle with India. Thousands of South Indian fishermen illegally cross into Sri Lankan territorial waters daily poaching fish. Arrests are regularly made by both sides but calls for a solution have had little result so far.