A ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in 2023 strengthened Mauritius’s claims to the Chagos Islands.
It did so by endorsing an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2019.
The ICJ ruled that Britain’s 1965 separation of the Chagos Islands from Mauritius was unlawful and stated the UK must end its administration as rapidly as possible.
While non-binding, the advisory opinion carries legal weight and prompted the UN General Assembly to demand the archipelago’s return to Mauritius in a near-unanimous vote in 2019.
Muizzu’s office said the Maldives was reviewing these legal judgements.
“The government of the Maldives maintains the firm position that, by virtue of historical and geographical proximity, it holds a prior claim to sovereign rights over the Chagos Archipelago over any other state,” the statement said.
“Accordingly, if sovereignty is to be vested in any nation, it must rightfully be the Maldives.”
The statement said the Maldives government would “pursue all available avenues for a formal submission” to the ICJ and continued to “assess all lawful means to uphold the national interest”.
“We remain hopeful that the United Kingdom, as a long-standing partner, will engage in meaningful dialogue to resolve this matter in a spirit of mutual respect and historical accuracy,” the statement said.
If the Maldives did file a legal case, it would further complicate the UK’s deal with Mauritius.
The deal has already been thrown into doubt by Trump, who said “this land should not be taken away from the UK” in a Truth Social post in February.
The comments came despite the US Department of State giving its official backing to the UK government’s plan.
Many Chagossians see the deal as a betrayal and want to see the UK retain sovereignty over the islands so they can one day return to their homeland.
The Conservatives and Reform UK are staunchly opposed to the deal as well.
