President: Not even the slightest slack in efforts to recover lost sea territory

There’s not even the slightest slack in the administration’s efforts to recover the territory that the Maldives lost from its seas, says President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.

The Maldives and Mauritius are logged in a territorial dispute over an area between the Maldives and Chagos Islands, as the country's exclusive economic zone overlaps with that of Chagos.

Mauritius lodged the case with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in 2019.

In April 2022, ITLOS concluded that the conflicting exclusive economic zones between Mauritius and Maldives would be divided between the two using the equidistance formula as argued by Maldives in the case.

Thus, Maldives gained 47,232 square kilometers from the 95,563 square kilometers of maritime territory in dispute, while Mauritius gained 45,331 square kilometers.

The ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), which was the opposition at the time, believes the Maldives is entitled to the entire 95,563 square kilometers.

During his 2023 presidential campaign, President Muizzu pledged to review ITLOS’ decision and do whatever he can to try to recover the lost maritime territory.

In a press briefing at the President’s Office on Saturday morning, President Muizzu said described the task as “hard” and “intricate.”

 He noted that his administration has advise from foreign experts for the task.

“We are working on the next steps. This is already in progress,” he said.

In October 2024, Britain had shifted its policy and announced the decision to give up Chagos Islands while retaining control over Diego Garcia - a highly secretive strategic airbase in the Indian Ocean it jointly operates with the United States.

Referring to this, President Muizzu said the Maldives also needs to engage in certain discussions over this policy shift.

“But recovering the lost territory remains one of our main policies. There’s not even the slightest slack in our efforts on that front. We haven’t backed down,” he said, addressing questions over lack of progress in the case.