Maldives open to maintaining Diego Garcia base if Chagos transferred

President Mohamed Muizzu has said the Maldives would be prepared to continue the operation of the United States–United Kingdom naval support facility at Diego Garcia if sovereignty over the Chagos Islands were transferred to the Maldives.

In an interview published on Sunday by Newsweek, President Muizzu said Donald Trump had expressed a desire to continue using the naval support facility at Diego Garcia and that the Maldives would be willing to make arrangements for the base to remain operational if it held sovereignty over the Chagos.

"Currently, under British ownership, the UK and the US can operate from the Diego Garcia base freely according to their various security and defence alliances with each other and many other countries, including the Maldives," Muizzu said. “Under a transfer of sovereignty to the Maldives, the government of Maldives would seek approval through our parliament as per our constitution, to facilitate the continuation of the status quo."

He added that if sovereignty over Chagos were transferred to the Maldives, the government would seek the advice and approval of Parliament, in line with the Constitution, to maintain existing arrangements at the base.

President Muizzu also noted that the Chagos Islands are currently uninhabited and designated as a marine protected area. He said these factors were cited by some as contributing to the security arrangements around Diego Garcia.

He further said the Maldives has experience in managing large marine areas and developing tourism-related infrastructure, and that conservation would remain a priority should Chagos come under Maldivian sovereignty.

The President said he had written to the British Prime Minister on the issue, announcing this during the 2024 Republic Day session.

Under an agreement signed in May last year, the United Kingdom agreed to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, while retaining control of the military base at Diego Garcia through a lease arrangement. Under the deal, the UK would pay GBP 101 million annually to lease the base for 99 years.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled on 28 April 2024 on the maritime boundary dispute between the Maldives and Mauritius, finding that delimitation should be considered primarily from the coast of the Chagos Islands. The ruling resulted in a division of 92,563 square kilometres of maritime area, with 47,232 square kilometres allocated to the Maldives and 45,331 square kilometres to Mauritius.

At the time, the then opposition, now the ruling PPM-PNC, criticised the ruling, alleging that it resulted in the loss of a significant portion of the southern economic zone.

After taking office, the government said the Attorney General’s Office began work to review the decision within its first 100 days. A committee was appointed and foreign expertise was sought. However, no formal proposal to review the ruling has been submitted to date.