Maldives seeks global expertise on Chagos handover to Mauritius

Attorney General Ahmed Usham announced Saturday that his office is consulting international experts regarding the United Kingdom’s decision to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, which overlaps with the Maldives' maritime claims. 

At a press conference at the President's Office, Usham emphasised that expert legal advice is critical to shaping the Maldives’ strategy in light of the evolving geopolitical situation.

“This is a matter of obtaining the opinion of international experts, and we need to adjust our strategies and actions accordingly,” he said.

Usham confirmed that one expert’s recommendation has already been received, with consultations ongoing to gather further insights.

The dispute takes on significance following a recent decision by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

The tribunal ruled that the maritime boundary between the Maldives and Chagos should be demarcated primarily based on the coastline of the Chagos Islands, which are now internationally recognised as Mauritian territory. This ruling marked the first formal definition of the Maldives’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), an area of strategic economic importance, in the south.

However, the ruling has ignited political debate within the Maldives. The government when they were in opposition before the November 2023 presidential election argued that the then administration compromised national maritime interests, potentially losing parts of the country's oceanic territory.

In response to the ITLOS ruling, the current government has formed a special committee to reassess the decision and ensure the nation’s maritime boundaries are protected.

Adding to the complexity, on October 3, the British and Mauritian prime ministers announced their decision to end the UK’s five-decade colonisation of the Chagos Islands. The agreement followed a year of negotiations between the two countries, resolving the long-standing dispute over the islands’ sovereignty. 

Under the agreement:

The Mauritian government has consistently argued that the islands were unfairly separated from Mauritius when it gained independence from the UK in 1968. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, around 1,000 Chagossians were forcibly evicted from their homes to make way for the construction of the military base on Diego Garcia.