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"For example, it will for the first time enable Police vessels to patrol around west Lantau without entering Chinese waters," he said.
The new boundary is based far more than hitherto on clearly identifiable natural features rather than the arbitrary lines on maps.
Mr Ashton said that it removed ambiguities which had arisen over the years, for example where the Shenzhen River had changed course.
"It fully meets the operational requirements of all those on the Hong Kong side concerned with running the border.
"Indeed, for the Police in particular, it reflects operational practices which have evolved over the years, and puts them for the first time on a firm foundation," he said.
The agreement sets out a sector by sector definition of the new boundary. There is no substantial change to the existing line between the Hong Kong and Guangdong-administered parts of Sha Tau Kok town. The boundary then runs westwards following the centre lines of the Sha Tau Kok and Shenzhen Rivers; and the bottom of the valley floor between the sources of the two rivers.
The MoU specifies that, after the realignment of the Shenzhen River, the boundary will follow the new centre line of the river.
Mr Ashton said that as a result of Phase I of the Shenzhen River realignment project, some 100 hectares of land currently under Guangdong administration, including some 96 hectares of land within the river loop at Lok Ma Chau, would end up on the Hong Kong side and some nine hectares of Hong Kong land on the Guangdong side of the new boundary.
It had been agreed between the two sides in 1992 that the land in the Lok Ma Chau loop would be treated as Shenzhen's cross border farming land.
Further to the east, some 3.4 hectares of privately registered land at San Kwai Tin on the northern side of the valley floor, will become subject to Guangdong administration.
Mr Ashton said that the Government would resume the private land affected under the Crown Lands Resumption Ordinance. He noted that the land was uninhabited and largely barren; and that it was inaccessible from Hong Kong.