A Dispute of Sovereignty
The Chagos Islands have, until this week, been referred to as the British Indian Ocean Territories. On Thursday (October 3), the new UK Government agreed to cede their disputed claim and return sovereignty to Mauritius.
The dispute dates back to the decolonization and independence of Mauritius in the 1960s, during which, agreements were made for a strategic military base to be installed on the archipelago – however, inhabitants were forcefully removed, and a dispute has been ongoing for over fifty years.
Fast forward to the 1980s, and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is plotting out the legal basis for ‘exclusive economic zones’, the area in which, under Article 56
the coastal State has:
(a) sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters superjacent to the seabed and of the seabed and its subsoil, and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such as the production of energy from the water, currents and winds;
In 2019, the International Court of Justice ruled that the process of decolonization of Mauritius was not lawfully completed when that country acceded to independence in 1968 and that the United Kingdom is under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible.
So – how has this week’s development changed the state of play?
A Difference of Policy
This week I have been speaking to the Responsible Mining officials in the Department of Business and Trade: they helpfully detail the UK Government’s position on Deep-Sea Mining.
The UK is an active participant in the ongoing negotiations at the International Seabed Authority on establishing a regulatory framework for future deep-sea mining exploitation and has issued two licenses to support exploration activities in the Clarion Clipperton Zone.
The UK Government currently has a moratorium in place for deep sea mining exploitation. This will stand until sufficient scientific evidence is available to assess the potential impact of deep-sea mining activities on marine ecosystems an strong standards and guidelines are adopted by the International Seabed Authority.
Mauritius is enthusiastic about the prospect of Deep Sea Mining: in 2022, their Economic Development Board were seeking investments for the exploration of of their seafloor.
The Chagos Islands are a group of atolls which have a Exclusive Economic Zone area of 638,555 km2 – they are situated near the seismically active Carlsberg Ridge; within the Indian Ocean Basin; and two seamounts are apparent to the west of the archipelago. You can see a C-MAP comparison of the bathymetry and exclusive economic zone boundaries below.
Own Your Ocean
M-Cubed has written an open letter to ministers around the world, including to the Honorable Kavydass Ramano, the Minister for Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change for the Mauritian Government.
You can see our OWN YOUR OCEAN campaign by following the links in this article.
M-Cubed Research Consulting 