The government of Mauritius has decided today to suspend diplomatic relations with Maldives over the ongoing dispute surrounding the Chagos archipelago.
Maldives' refusal to recognize Mauritius' sovereign claim over Chagos, and its objections to the draft agreement being negotiated with the UK, were raised during today's Mauritius cabinet meeting.
Mauritius' cabinet decided that, as a result, diplomatic ties with the Maldives will be suspended with immediate effect, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.
The government of Maldives has not yet commented on Mauritius' decision.
Mauritius' move comes after President Dr Mohamed Muizzu declared that the Maldives opposes transferring sovereign claim over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, and that his government has formally requested a meeting with the UK to discuss the issue.
In his presidential address during the opening of parliament this year, President Muizzu announced that Maldives' government has sent letters to the UK government on November 8, 2024 and January 18, 2026 stating its objection to Chagos being handed over to Mauritius.
This marked the first time this year that the government's correspondence to the UK on the Chagos issue was publicly disclosed.
Besides sending the letters, President Muizzu further revealed that in an online call with Deputy Prime Minister of UK David Lammy, he had shared Maldives' reservations on the issue and expressed an interest in formal discussions with the UK government.
President Muizzu also formally withdrew a letter sent to the Prime Minister of Mauritius by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. He also announced that the area relinquished under the earlier position will now be included within Maldives' Special Economic Zone, as provided for in law.
The International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion in 2019 that UK exercising control over Chagos is against international law, and that Chagos should be under sovereign claim of Mauritius. As this is non-binding, the UK initially did not act upon it, but later changed its stance following pressure through a UN General Assembly vote in favour of implementing the recommendation.
Following this, Mauritius went to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) seeking demarcation of the disputed overlapping territory of 95,000sqkm between Maldives and Mauritius.
ITLOS allocated the disputed territory of between Maldives and Mauritius, providing each country with a 200-mile continental shelf. Maldives was granted 47,232sqkm while Mauritius was given 45,331sqkm.
