Cox's Bazaar: The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) has issued timeframes to Burma and Bangladesh for submission of their respective reports regarding their maritime boundary dispute in the Bay of Bengal, according to a tribunal press release.
ITLOS has fixed 1 July 2010 as the time limit for Bangladesh to submit its claim and 1 December 2010 for Burma to submit its counter-claim.
The president of the tribunal fixed the time limits by order of 2010/01 of 28 January 2010 after considering the agreement between Burma and Bangladesh during consultation meetings in the tribunal, reports the source.
"During consultations held with the president of the tribunal on 25 and 26 January 2010 in the tribunal, the representatives of the parties agreed on the following order and time limits for filing of the written pleadings," the source continued.
However, it was added that the subsequent procedure has been reserved for a further decision. If necessary, the tribunal can order both countries to submit their second reports on another timeframe.
The proceedings were instituted before the tribunal on 14 December 2009 as the Bangladesh Foreign Minister notified the ITLOS president of declarations issued by the Union of Myanmar on 4 November 2009 and by Bangladesh on 12 December.
ITLOS said in its statement that both countries accepted its jurisdiction for the settlement of their dispute related to the delimitation of their maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal based on their respective declarations.
Apart from arbitration by the ITLOS, both sides are seeking ways to resolve their longstanding dispute over the hydrocarbon and mineral rich zone on the Bay of Bengal through bilateral negotiations.
In a recent high-level talk in a Bangladesh port city, both countries agreed to settle the dispute by demarcating the sea boundary following the principles of equidistance and equity of resources.
According to an official source, the next meeting between the two countries will be held in April in Burma's new capital Naypyidaw.
Bangladesh currently has similar issues with India related to the maritime boundary, but India has yet to accept the adjudication of the tribunal.
