Maritime Boundary Dispute between Myanmar and Bangladesh

Myanmar and Bangladesh are the two littorals of the Indian Ocean touching the Bay of Bengal in two opposite and adjacent directions. Since 1974 Myanmar and Bangladesh have tried to negotiate their overlapping maritime zone and continental shelf claims in the Bay of Bengal. Despite those talks, the two neighbours could not reach any accurate and acceptable agreement. During November, 2008, the maritime dispute between the two countries increased when Myanmar sent two warships as escort for Daewoo‟s vessels and rigs to work in the AD-7 block in the Bay of Bengal. By claiming that the area was within its maritime boundary, protests followed from Bangladesh along with sending its four warships to the disputed area. Most expected that the maritime boundary dispute between Myanmar and Bangladesh might escalate into an open war at any time soon. However, the maritime boundary dispute was settled at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in March 2012. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to explain how Myanmar and Bangladesh tried to resolve their dispute which might escalate into an open war by means of negotiation and why both countries decided to settle their dispute at the international organization level but not by bilateral negotiation.