Friday
19th Apr 2024
Dhivehi Edition
President Solih and VP Faisal Naseem. Photo: President's Office.
Malé, Maldives - The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) announced a significant decision yesterday, ruling that the Maldives will lose 45,331 square kilometers of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in a maritime boundary delimitation case involving the Republic of Mauritius. The judgment evenly divides the disputed maritime zone, awarding Mauritius 45,331 square kilometers and the Maldives 47,232 square kilometers.
Previously, the entire area of 92,653 square kilometers was considered part of the Maldivian EEZ, as per local legislation defining the EEZ as 200 nautical miles from the coast. The ruling has sparked debate among legal experts in the Maldives, some of whom argue that the country could have fought for a larger share of the disputed territory instead of agreeing to divide it based on the principle of equidistance.
Dr. Mohammed Munnavvar, a Maldivian legal scholar and renowned expert in the law of the sea, noted that the Maldives has a historical claim to these waters. He argued that, given the nation's heavy reliance on fishing, the Maldives should have pursued a larger share of the disputed territory rather than agreeing to an equal division.
The Maldives is a fishing nation, heavily dependent on the tuna industry for both its economic stability and food security. Tuna is a migratory species, and many experts fear that if Mauritius begins industrial fishing operations in the seas surrounding the Chagos Archipelago, the tuna stock in the area may be depleted. This would have direct and severe consequences for the Maldivian fishing industry and, by extension, the nation's economy and livelihood.