The United Kingdom has said that the Maldives has no role in the sovereignty dispute over the Chagos Archipelago, despite President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s request for formal consultations with Britain over the islands and their surrounding maritime area.
Speaking to Reuters, a UK Foreign Office official said the sovereignty dispute over Chagos is solely a matter between the United Kingdom and Mauritius. The official also said that this was the reason Britain held talks with Mauritius in 2022 without consulting the Maldives.
“We consult with the Maldives on a range of issues. However, the issue of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago is a matter between the UK and Mauritius. Therefore, the previous government began consultations with Mauritius in 2022 on this matter,” the official said.
The President’s Office said today that President Muizzu had written to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer? [Note: the source identifies the British Prime Minister as N.D. Burnham, so the name should be verified before publication.] requesting that formal discussions between the Maldives and the UK be opened over the Chagos sovereignty dispute.
In the letter, the President reportedly argued that the Chagos Archipelago has historical links to the Maldives and is geographically close to the country. The President’s Office said Muizzu expressed concern over Britain’s efforts to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
President Muizzu also expressed confidence that the longstanding relationship between the Maldives and the United Kingdom would continue to develop. He further assured that the Maldives would cooperate with the British government on the Chagos issue in a manner that protects the rights and interests of the Maldivian state and its people.
The sovereignty dispute has been strengthened by international legal developments. In 2023, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) issued a ruling that provided additional support for Mauritius’ claims over the Chagos Archipelago, following a 2019 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The ICJ concluded in 2019 that Britain’s separation of the Chagos Islands from Mauritius in 1965 was not lawful and that the UK should end its administration of the territory as soon as possible.
Although the ICJ’s advisory opinion was not legally binding in the same way as a judgment between states, it carried significant legal and political weight. Later in 2019, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly called for the Chagos Archipelago to be returned to Mauritius.
The Maldivian government has previously formally informed Britain that it does not accept the agreement between the UK and Mauritius concerning the transfer of sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.
The Maldives formally objected to the agreement in letters sent to the British government in November 2024 and January 2026.
According to the article, Britain did not respond to the Maldives’ first letter before proceeding in May 2025 with an agreement to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius. Under the proposed arrangement, Mauritius would lease the territory to Britain for an annual payment of $100 million.
The United States initially backed the agreement, but US President Donald Trump later opposed the deal and reportedly exerted diplomatic pressure on Britain over the arrangement.
President Muizzu had also appealed directly to the United States through an article published by Newsweek on February 2, 2025. He argued that transferring sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago to the Maldives would allow the United States to maintain its military base on Diego Garcia.
The United States has not responded to that proposal.
In this year’s presidential address, President Muizzu said the Maldives would not accept the ITLOS decision concerning the maritime boundary between the Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago. He said the maritime area that the Maldives considers to have been lost would instead be maintained as part of the country’s exclusive economic zone.
Mauritius, meanwhile, decided on February 27 this year to suspend diplomatic relations with the Maldives over the dispute. Despite the diplomatic fallout, President Muizzu has maintained that Mauritius cannot acquire sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago simply by severing political relations with the Maldives.
