Environment Minister Thorig Ibrahim has expressed optimism regarding the possibility of reclaiming the maritime area conceded in the territorial dispute between the Maldives and Mauritius.
Speaking at a ceremony held to launch a rescue divers training program in Gdh. Madaveli, Thorig expressed confidence in the recovery of Maldivan waters lost in the dispute, particularly for local fishermen. He noted that foreign fishing vessels enter Maldivian waters and that it is President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's intention to enhance surveillance and monitoring of the Maldivian waters through the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF).
The territorial dispute between Maldives and Mauritius arose after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared the Chagos Archipelago, located south of the Maldives, as the sovereign territory of Mauritius in September 2019. The ICJ ruling prompted Mauritius to request the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to determine equidistance measurements for both countries' outer limits from Blenheim Reef. The disputed overlapping area between the Maldives and Mauritius was 95,000 square kilometers. The Maldives requested not to consider the reef in calculating the equidistance as it was not part of Mauritius' coastline.
In April 2023, ITLOS ruled that the overlapping area should be divided using the equidistance method, excluding any point on the Blenheim Reef. Consequently, 47,232 square kilometers were allocated to the Maldives, while 45,331 square kilometers were assigned to Mauritius.
