The ongoing dispute between Australia and East Timor over maritime boundaries could be resolved in a landmark case that begins in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on Monday.

In April, East Timor triggered compulsory conciliation under the UN’s Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) over the disputed territory that contains large oil and gas deposits worth an estimated $40 billion.

Australia has refused to negotiate a permanent boundary with East Timor.

Temporary revenue sharing arrangements have been agreed to in treaties signed in 2002 and 2006.

As part of the 2006 Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea (CMATS) treaty, East Timor agreed to a clause that put a 50-year hold on negotiating a permanent maritime border.

However, East Timor believes the 2006 treaty should be torn up due to an Australian bugging operation it considers to be illegal.

In 2012, then prime minister Xanana Gusmao discovered that Australian intelligence agents had bugged East Timor’s cabinet rooms during negotiations.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-28/east-timor-australia-maritime-border-to-be-negotiated-the-hague/7791778