“This is a great and historic journey”, said the PM. The latest judgment of the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) of 28 January 2021 to delimit the maritime territory of Mauritius and the Maldives in the Chagos region opens up Mauritius to those boundaries to which it had always been entitled to exercise its sovereign right. Thus, Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth announced at a press briefing on Monday at the Treasury Building, the departure of a ship carrying an important panel of scientists, technicians and members of the international press who are interested in the Chagos Archipelagos.
Mauritius sovereignty over the Chagos recognised
This ‘Scientific Survey’ will be carried out at Blenheim Reef, in the north of the archipelago. It is scheduled to last until 22 February, and will aim to study the delimitation of the boundaries between Mauritian territorial waters with the Chagos, and the Maldives. Namely, the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea has rejected the points put forward by the Maldives government in the maritime dispute, thereby endorsing the opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which now recognises that Mauritius has full sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago.
In his statement to the press, Pravind Jugnauth recalled that “the court says that Chagos has always been an integral part of the Republic and that the colonisers must leave Chagos as soon as possible. The Special Chamber confirmed that Mauritius has full sovereignty over the Chagos”. In line with these favourable judgements the PM proudly announced the departure “This is a historic step. This will be the first time that post-independent Mauritius, as a sovereign Republic, will undertake such an investigation in the waters of the Chagos Archipelago”. The Mauritian delegation is leaving for the Seychelles, from where it would embark on the Bleu de Nîmes, a vessel chartered by the Mauritian government and equipped with the necessary amenities to carry out the investigation tasks.
Options not considered
However, he was keen to point out that relations with the Maldives are strained, “Setting course for the Chagos from the Maldives would have been shorter. But this sister country imposed totally unacceptable conditions. Our other option would have been Rodrigues, but the recent cyclone Batsirai and the pandemic situation forced the option of leaving the Seychelles.
The delegation
On board the boat, the delegation will be led by Ambassador Jagdish Daramchand Koonjul, Mauritius’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Olivier Bancoult and some Chagossians who know the archipelago, British lawyer Philippe Sands QC, lawyers and technicians from the Mauritian government and American and British journalists with a strong interest in the archipelago. Unfortunately, there will be no Mauritian journalists on board due to lack of space. And the PM will not be part of the crew as he cannot afford such a long absence from the country. “I have a heavy heart, I am sad that I cannot go but I am determined that in the future I will undertake another visit to be part of this trip,” he regretted. He also informed that another trip to the Chagos archipelago will be organised, during which he will also visit the atolls and where the Mauritian press may be invited.
