Maldives tells UK it does not recognise Chagos Islands deal

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Joshua NevettPolitical reporter

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The President’s Office of the Republic of the Maldives

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu (right) met Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy during a UK visit last year

The president of the Maldives has formally told the UK that it does not recognise the deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

President Mohamed Muizzu’s office told the BBC the Maldives had expressed its opposition to the “deeply concerning” deal in two written objections and a phone call with Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy.

The nation of tropical islands in the Indian Ocean is asserting sovereignty over the Chagos Islands and is threatening international legal action to press its claim.

UK Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty has said the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands is a matter for Britain and Mauritius, not the Maldives.

A government source said international courts had already considered the question of sovereignty over the Chagos Islands and found in favour of Mauritius.

The Chagos Islands - officially known as the British Indian Ocean Territory - are located in the Indian Ocean and the UK has controlled them since the early 19th Century.

Last year, the UK government agreed to transfer control of the territory to Mauritius, paying an average cost of £101m a year to lease a joint UK-US military base on the largest island.

Mauritius has long claimed the islands and has pursued international legal action.

Labour ministers have argued that if a deal with Mauritius was not struck, the future of the military base would be threatened by international legal rulings.

But the deal has not yet been confirmed in UK law and appears to be indefinitely on hold, after US President Donald Trump urged Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer not to give up the territory.

The Maldives opposes Mauritian control of the Chagos Islands and argues it has historical claims to the archipelago dating back centuries.

In a detailed statement sent to the BBC, Muizzu’s office outlined his country’s position on the Chagos Islands and its diplomatic engagements with the British government.

The Maldives wrote to the British government in November 2024 and January 2026 to formally object to its deal with Mauritius.

“These diplomatic communications articulate the government’s firm position: the decision by the British government to proceed in sole consultation with Mauritius - without due consideration of Maldivian interests - is deeply concerning,” the statement said.

"Consequently, the Maldives has formally communicated that it does not recognise the transfer of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius.

“This position is based on the profound historical and administrative ties between the Maldives and the archipelago, as well as the significant implications any such transfer holds for Maldivian sovereignty.”

In a phone call with Lammy last December, Muizzu warned the deputy UK prime minister that “any transfer of the archipelago must account for Maldivian interests”.

Potential legal action

A ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in 2023 strengthened Mauritius’s claims to the Chagos Islands.

It did so by endorsing an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2019.

The ICJ ruled that Britain’s 1965 separation of the Chagos Islands from Mauritius was unlawful and stated the UK must end its administration as rapidly as possible.

While non-binding, the advisory opinion carries legal weight and prompted the UN General Assembly to demand the archipelago’s return to Mauritius in a near-unanimous vote in 2019.

Muizzu’s office said the Maldives was reviewing these legal judgements.

“The government of the Maldives maintains the firm position that, by virtue of historical and geographical proximity, it holds a prior claim to sovereign rights over the Chagos Archipelago over any other state,” the statement said.

“Accordingly, if sovereignty is to be vested in any nation, it must rightfully be the Maldives.”

The statement said the Maldives government would “pursue all available avenues for a formal submission” to the ICJ and continued to “assess all lawful means to uphold the national interest”.

“We remain hopeful that the United Kingdom, as a long-standing partner, will engage in meaningful dialogue to resolve this matter in a spirit of mutual respect and historical accuracy,” the statement said.

If the Maldives did file a legal case, it would further complicate the UK’s deal with Mauritius.

The deal has already been thrown into doubt by Trump, who said “this land should not be taken away from the UK” in a Truth Social post in February.

The comments came despite the US Department of State giving its official backing to the UK government’s plan.

Many Chagossians see the deal as a betrayal and want to see the UK retain sovereignty over the islands so they can one day return to their homeland.

The Conservatives and Reform UK are staunchly opposed to the deal as well.

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