UNITED NATIONS, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Australia and Timor-Leste on Tuesday signed a maritime boundaries treaty under the auspices of the United Nations.

The treaty was signed by Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Hermenegildo Augusto Cabral Pereira, Timor-Leste minister in the office of the prime minister for the delimitation of borders.

The treaty was signed at UN Headquarters in New York in the presence of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The signing of the maritime boundaries treaty marks the successful conclusion of the first-ever recourse by states to conciliation proceedings under Annex V to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The Comprehensive Package Agreement of Aug. 30, 2017, which includes the maritime boundaries treaty, puts an end to a decade-long maritime dispute between Timor-Leste and Australia.

"By delimiting the maritime boundary between Australia and Timor-Leste in the Timor Sea and by establishing a special regime for the area comprising the Greater Sunrise gas field, this agreement puts Australia and Timor-Leste in a better position to exercise their respective rights and obligations under the Convention (on the Law of the Sea) in an effective manner," Guterres told the signing ceremony. "It should also ensure that both states fully benefit from the sustainable exploitation of natural resources in the Timor Sea."

The treaty is a further contribution to establishing legal certainty in the world's oceans, an essential condition for stable relations, peace and security, and the achievement of sustainable development, he said.

This signing of the treaty demonstrates the strength of international law and the effectiveness of resolving disputes through peaceful means, said the UN chief.