AGO: Maldives’ interests properly defended in Chagos dispute

Maldives’ interests were properly defended in accordance with international conventions and legal principles and decisions before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) over the dispute concerning the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Maldives and Mauritius, states Attorney General’s Office (AGO).

The AGO made the remark in a statement on Sunday, following allegations Maldives had agreed to give up its claim over part of its maritime territory.

The territorial dispute is over an area between the Maldives and Chagos Islands - a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about 500 kilometers south of the Maldives archipelago.

For decades, Mauritius and the United Kingdom have been in a dispute over ownership of the Chagos, after Mauritius claimed the Chagos archipelago as Mauritian territory when Mauritius gained independence from the UK in 1968. Maldives became involved in the dispute as the country's exclusive economic zone overlaps with that of Chagos.

Mauritius lodged the case with the ITLOS under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on August 23, 2019.

Maldives had contested ITLOS’ authority to delimitate the disputed area, but the tribunal decided on January 28, 2021 to hear the case.

Oral proceedings began October 17.

AGO said that Maldives’ interests were properly defended before the ITLOS.

“Given the importance of this case for a fishing-reliant country such as Maldives, a team was appointed to represent Maldives, composed of educated and experienced attorneys in the field, and experts in hydrography and geology,” said the AGO.

“Maldives’ interests were properly defended before the tribunal in accordance with international conventions, legal principles and decisions.”

AGO said Maldives’ defense was based on three arguments.

Maldives opposes Mauritius' proposal to consider Blenheim reef as a base point in determining the territorial waters of the two countries, as the Maldives will get an additional area of 4,687 square kilometers if Maldives is successful in delimitating the area without treating it as base point with reference to precedence set by international courts.

Maldives disputes ITLOS’ Special Chamber’s jurisdiction to hear a dispute over an outer continental shelf as it is not composed of experts such as scientific experts, unlike Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) – with which Maldives lodged a case in 2010.

Maldives argues that even ITLOS decides it has the jurisdiction to look into case, Mauritius does not have rights to the outer continental shelf as it has not submitted relevant scientific and technical evidence regarding the natural prolongation.

AGO said the ITLOS will move to a judgement once Monday’s proceedings conclude, if they require no further clarifications.

AGO said that delimitation of maritime territory in dispute between two countries are usually decided based on the principle of equidistance - a legal concept in maritime boundary claims that a country's maritime boundaries should conform to a median line that is equidistant from the shores of neighboring countries.

“As a result, Maldives’ maritime boundary will be determined based on the standards set down under the convention, and Maldives will have sovereign control over the territory,” said the AGO.

AGO added that Maldives has always supported decolonization, and that the decision by Maldives to vote in favor of the Chagos decolonization resolution in the UN General Assembly and the ongoing dispute at the ITLOS are two separate issues and that the vote will have no affect on the dispute.