[Coral-List] Chagos MPA - Continuing international dispute over boundaries
Richard Dunne
RichardPDunne at aol.com
Tue Sep 28 05:47:13 EDT 2010
Dear Listers
INTERNATIONAL DISPUTE OVER BOUNDARIES OF PROPOSED CHAGOS MPA
On 26 July 2010 the Government of the Republic of the Maldives filed a
submission to the United Nations (Commission on the Limits of the
Continental Shelf) proposing to extend its seabed beyond the 200nm EEZ.
The submission also clearly shows that the Maldivian EEZ overlaps an
large area of the claimed Chagos Fisheries and Environment Zone, and the
proposed MPA.
The UK Government formally replied to the submission on 9 August, noting
that it "does not take full account of the 200 nautical mile Fisheries
and Environment Zones of the British Indian Ocean Territory", but that
"The UK is fully committed to formalising these boundaries at the
earliest opportunity with the Republic of Maldives".
The UK and the Maldives last had discussions at a technical level in
1992 about the overlap of the respective 200nm claims. Dr Howells (UK
Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs) confirmed in 2008 that
formal agreement had still not been reached between the countries. On 9
May 2010, the Maldivian Foreign Minister expressed concern over UK
Foreign Secretary Milliband's declaration of the MPA, re-iterating that
the demarcation line between the southern Maldives and Chagos had not
been agreed. The Maldives contends that its claim to the area is
supported by the fact that the Chagos is not permanently inhabited. To
date there have been no further talks between the Maldives and the UK.
--
Richard P Dunne
More information about the Coral-List
mailing list