Nasheed says MNDF actions in southern waters may have US, UK consent
President Muizzu said the Maldives’ Special Economic Zone includes the maritime area previously ceded by the former administration.
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MNDF deploys sea, air assets to monitor disputed southern SEZ
Former President Mohamed Nasheed said on Friday that the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Coast Guard may have begun monitoring the Maldives’ southern waters, including areas subject to a dispute with Mauritius under an International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) ruling, with the consent of the United States and the United Kingdom.
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled on 28 April 2024 on the delimitation of maritime boundaries, holding that the separation of the sea area should be considered primarily from the coast of the Chagos Islands, as argued by the Maldives. Under the ruling, the Maldives was allocated a larger portion of the disputed maritime area.
At the time, the Progressive Party of Maldives–People’s National Congress (PPM-PNC), then in opposition and now in government, said the ruling resulted in the loss of a significant part of the southern economic zone. After taking office, President Mohamed Muizzu said the government would seek to restore the disputed sea area.
The MNDF has since launched a surveillance operation in the Southern Special Economic Zone (SEZ) using drones deployed from the MNDF Coast Guard vessel Dharumavantha and assets of the MNDF Air Corps.
In a post on X on Friday, Nasheed commented on the Maldives’ actions in the southern maritime area. He referred to recent remarks by former United States President Donald Trump, who described the United Kingdom’s agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back a military base as “stupid”, adding that the decision was likely made earlier.
Nasheed said the United States and the United Kingdom could now argue that the Maldives’ maritime claims require review and that the Chagos Islands should not be transferred to Mauritius. He suggested that the MNDF Coast Guard’s actions may have been carried out with the consent of the United States and the United Kingdom.
In his presidential address at the opening sitting of Parliament on Thursday, President Muizzu said the Maldives’ Special Economic Zone includes the maritime area previously ceded by the former administration.
The Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Thursday that the MNDF will continue to protect the southern maritime area, stating that safeguarding the country’s territory and Special Economic Zone is the responsibility of the armed forces.
