The next round of meeting will be held in January next year in Myanmar. Sources said the two sides remained rigid on the methodology to be used in delimitation. Myanmar argues for an equal distance method, while Bangladesh prefers the maritime boundaries to be drawn on the basis of equity.

Bangladesh has asked Myanmar not to cross into Bangladesh territory until a maritime delimitation deal is signed. However, Bangladesh said there was "incremental progress” as Myanmar offered Bangladesh a sea corridor.

"We've both exchanged our proposal but are yet to reach an agreement. We'll sit again in January to reach a consensus," said Bangladesh's Additional Foreign Secretary M. A. K. Mahmood. "Myanmar proposed a corridor in the Bay and we have rejected it since we feel that equity should be the guiding method to settle the issue under the U.N. Convention on the 1982 Law of the Sea," he said.

Negotiation resumed this January after more than two decades, and the Dhaka meeting was the fourth round of maritime boundary talks in the aftermath of the recent tension when Myanmar's ships entered Bangladesh territory - marked ‘deep-sea blocks 8-13' - early this month, ignoring warnings from the Bangladesh Navy, which soon moved to regain control over the area.

Myanmar's delegation leader and Deputy Foreign Minister, Maung Myint, declined to talk to reporters. Mr. Mahmood said Myanmar should restrict its survey and exploration activities to the east of the 180-degree line, which is claimed by Bangladesh as its territorial waters.

Responding to a query as to why Bangladesh did not accept Myanmar's proposal of ‘equidistance method', Mr. Mahmood said such a method will deprive Bangladesh its legitimate share in the Bay. According to international maritime law, a country is supposed to enjoy its right to fish and other marine resources as well as extraction of mineral resources in an exclusive economic zone - an area 200 nautical miles into an adjacent sea.

Under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982, Bangladesh must file its claim by July 27, 2011, to the U.N., while India and Myanmar will have to make their stands known to Bangladesh by June 29 and May 21, respectively. – The Hindu