Bangladesh and Myanmar yesterday decided to demarcate the maritime boundary of the two countries, accommodating the demands of both equidistance and equity of resources as the guiding principles.
The decision came at a two-day high-level meeting that ended yesterday afternoon at a hotel in Chittagong.
The meeting also decided to hold another round of talks by next April in Myanmar.
Additional Foreign Secretary of UN Convention on Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) Rear Admiral (retd) Md Khurshed Alam, who led Bangladesh side at the meeting, told reporters that the talk was fruitful.
He said a technical team under his leadership has already been working on demarcation of the maritime boundary.
Myanmar Ambassador to Bangladesh U Phae Thann Oo, who was also present at the meeting, said, "We are very happy with the fruitful discussion. It was a very good discussion. It will continue."
During Friday's talk, Bangladesh and Myanmar both placed their proposals on demarcation, opening the discussion on a positive note to resolve the dispute over the natural gas and mineral-rich zone of the Bay of Bengal.
Bangladesh proposed fixing the maritime boundary following the principle of equity of the resources while Myanmar recommended line-based equidistance system for demarcating maritime boundary.
As per a UN charter, the principle of equity takes into account a country's population, economic status and needs, GDP growth and other humane issues for demarcating maritime boundary. In contrast, the equidistance system marks the boundary through geometric calculations.
If the principle of equity is applied, Bangladesh may get a bigger maritime area than Myanmar wants Bangladesh to have.
"The positive outcome of this meeting is that for the first time Myanmar has, in principle, shifted from its rigid position on equidistance," Rear Admiral (retd) Khurshed Alam told The Daily Star.
But how will the two countries amicably accommodate the two concepts? Khurshed explains that the maritime boundary will be set on the basis of equidistance at some parts and on equity at others. "We will have to see how this formula will work," he added.
The dispute between the two neighbouring countries surfaced during the last caretaker government's rule in late 2008 when Bangladesh protested against Myanmar's move for oil and gas exploration in a block in the deep sea. Bangladesh claimed that Myanmar was trespassing into Bangladeshi waters while Myanmar claimed that the area belonged to it.
A tension has ever since prevailed between the two countries.
Later, Bangladesh formally raised the issue at the UN Arbitration Tribunal in October last year for a solution.
Two 13-member teams from both the countries participated in the just-concluded meeting.
Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister U Maung Myint led the Myanmar delegation.
Bangladesh Ambassador in Myanmar Maj Gen Anup Kumar Chakma and Myanmar Ambassador in Bangladesh U Phae Than Oo were also present at the meeting.
The Bangladesh delegation included Sector General (Administration) Mohammad Abdul Hye and five high officials of the foreign ministry and representatives from Hydrography and Naval Operations of Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Geological Survey, Petrobangla, and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority.
The Myanmar team comprised representatives from the ministries of defence and education, Consular and Legal Affairs Department, Myanmar National Hydrographic Centre, State Peace and Development Council, Legal Expert Group and the Law Department of University of Yangon.
As per UNCLOS, Bangladesh needs to file its claims for maritime boundary with the International Seabed Authorities and must demarcate its boundaries by July 27, 2011. India was supposed to do this by June 29, 2009 and Myanmar by May 21, 2009.
Under the convention, Bangladesh has to submit necessary documents to the UN to validate its claims of territorial waters, exclusive economic zone up to 200 nautical miles and continental shelf up to 350 nautical miles from the baseline.
The two-day meeting was the first of its kind after Bangladesh officially asked in October 2009 for arbitration to settle the issues on maritime boundaries with India and Myanmar.