Dear Colleagues,

I do not have a ready answer to Mantanani's query, though I might wonder if one or both states claimed the bay as a historic bay, which could affect the location of any bay closing line depending on historic usage.  As Maurice points out, the answer will depend on customary international law and could also be influenced by any straight baseline systems claimed by the states.

Some references, though they might be a bit dated, related to the customary international law of bays are Mitchell P. Strohl, The International Law of Bays (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1963) and Leo J. Bouchez, The Regime of Bays in International Law (Leyden: Sythoff, 1964).  Of possible bays bordered by more than one state, Bouchez examines the Gulf of Fonseca, Bay of Granville, Gulf of Aqaba, Palk Bay, and the Gulf of Manaar.  Strohl examines the Gulf of Fonseca, the Gulf of Aqaba, Gibraltar Bay, and the Bay of Fundy.  Until the recent Sino-Vietnamese maritime boundary agreement, Vietnam claimed the Gulf of Tonkin as a historic bay between China and Vietnam (see my Vietnam: Straight Baselines, Limits In the Seas no. 99).

Regards,
Dan Dzurek