MALDIVES REJECTS UK-MAURITIUS CHAGOS DEAL, MOVES TO RECLAIM LOST MARITIME ZONE. (PHOTO).

 Maldives rejects UK-Mauritius Chagos deal, moves to reclaim lost maritime zone

The Maldives said that it objected to a UK-Mauritius deal on the Chagos Islands to transfer Chagos sovereignty to Mauritius from the UK.

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu told parliament that the government formally submitted objections to the UK on November 8, 2024, and January 18, 2026, expressing “rejection of this decision.”

A statement from the presidential office said Muizzu noted that during a December 15 call with British Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, “he conveyed the Maldives' desire for further consultations on the matter.”

Muizzu told lawmakers that legal proceedings have commenced to recover the maritime area lost following the ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, TRT Afrika reported.

He also announced the government’s decision to rescind a letter sent by former Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to Mauritius on August 22, 2022, which recognised Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.

US position

On Thursday, President Donald Trump dropped his opposition to an agreement in which Britain returned to Mauritius.

But after speaking with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump warned in a post on Truth Social that he retains the right to "secure and reinforce" the US presence on Diego Garcia island, which is home to the base, if the British deal comes undone or the American presence is threatened.

The developments come after the US and the UK exchanged heated arguments about the island.

Planned parliamentary debates on the UK's deal to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius were delayed last month following backlash from Trump.

The debate on the deal resurfaced after Trump criticised the agreement signed by the UK and Mauritius as “an act of great stupidity”.

Last May, the UK and Mauritius signed a deal to transfer sovereignty to the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, ending more than two centuries of British rule, in exchange for allowing the US and UK to continue operating the strategically important Diego Garcia military base for the next 99 years.

The Chagos Archipelago, a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the central Indian Ocean, is located 500 kilometres (310 miles) south of the Maldives.