UK's response to Maldives' demand: Chagos is a matter between the UK and Mauritius

The United Kingdom has stated that the issue of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago is a matter between the UK and Mauritius.

In his Presidential Address on Thursday, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu stated that the Maldives has sent two letters to the British government asserting that the Maldives is the country with the most rightful claim to Chagos' sovereignty and, therefore, denies the transfer of the territory to Mauritius.

Additionally, President Muizzu sent a letter to withdraw the letter sent by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to Mauritius on August 22, 2022, which had accepted that sovereignty over Chagos belongs to Mauritius.

However, when questioned on this matter by "Anadolu Agency," a news agency run by the Turkish government, the UK Foreign Office stated that the dispute over Chagos' sovereignty lies with Mauritius.

"Numerous courts, judgments, and various institutions have made it clear that the question of Chagos' sovereignty lies between the UK and Mauritius," the Foreign Office said when asked about the Maldives' demand.

According to President Muizzu's Presidential Address, the government sent letters to the UK regarding this matter on November 8, 2024, and January 18, 2026.

In the response given to "Anadolu," the Foreign Office noted that the agreement made with Mauritius includes very strict clauses to protect Diego Garcia, the largest island in Chagos and a military base for the US and UK.

The Foreign Office highlighted that this was necessary to ensure Diego Garcia remains as it is.

"Through the agreement, that base will be protected for many generations and will remain a UK territory to seek protection from various threats on a very broad scale."

Work is still ongoing regarding the implementation of the agreement signed in May last year to hand over Chagos to Mauritius.

Although the UK has accepted and ceded Chagos as belonging to Mauritius, it has been agreed to lease Diego Garcia to the UK for 99 years.

Chagos came under British rule after the British colonized all islands, including Mauritius; when Mauritius was granted independence, Chagos was transferred to British control in the 1970s instead. Following this, people were forcibly removed from the Chagos islands. At that time, the population was approximately 2,000.

In 2018, Mauritius took the UK to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the ownership of Chagos. A year later, in February 2019, the court issued an advisory opinion stating that sovereignty over Chagos belongs to Mauritius.

Based on this decision, Mauritius submitted a case to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) requesting the delimitation of the overlapping maritime boundary between the Maldives and Chagos, as Mauritius holds authority over Chagos. That tribunal also decided that the UK would not have authority over Chagos.

Therefore, the maritime boundary has now been delimited as proposed by Mauritius.

As an area of 95,000 square kilometers overlapped when drawing the economic zones of the Maldives and Mauritius, the area was divided between the two countries such that the Maldives received a total of 47,232 square kilometers. Mauritius received 45,331 square kilometers. This was how the area of more than 95,000 square kilometers, which overlapped when each country took a 200-mile zone, was divided. Mauritius received 0.960 square kilometers for every square kilometer the Maldives received.

Chagos is an archipelago consisting of 60 islands located 310 miles (500 kilometers) south of the Maldives.