Dili got a fair deal on sea border: Bishop

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has called for logical arguments not emotion to win out in Australia's dispute with East Timor over maritime boundaries.

Officials from both countries went head-to-head at a United Nations conciliation commission in The Hague overnight and East Timor's former president Xanana Gusmao warned his nation would not rest until it gains sovereign rights over both land and sea.

"It is important to consider the merits of relevant arguments logically and not allow emotion to overwhelm the key principles in play: that of adherence to international law including the UN convention on the law of the sea and fairness to all sides," Ms Bishop said in an opinion piece penned for The Australian on Tuesday.