Abstract: Maritime delimitation is the act of demarcating the territorial sea, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf boundary between countries with adjacent or opposite coasts. Clear and clear maritime delimitation is important and necessary in order for countries with adjacent or opposite coasts to better exercise their rights in the exclusive economic zone. The maritime delimitation cases of Maldives and Mauritius have received widespread attention from international law of the sea scholars because of their involvement in the sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago and the preliminary judgment of the case by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, making maritime delimitation difficult and complex. So where is the dispute in this case? Where does the Chagos Archipelago belong? This article will comment on the maritime delimitation between Mauritius and Maldives from the position of Mauritius and explore the impact of the ownership of the Chagos Archipelago on the submission and express humble opinions.
Keywords: Mauritius, Maldives, Chagos Archipelago, maritime delimitation
Body:
Introduction to the submission of Mauritius and Maldives
Mauritius and Maldives are more than 2,200 kilometres apart, and the Chagos Archipelago between the Maldives and Mauritius is only 517 kilometres from the Maldives.
The Maldives submitted the following reasons to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: first, that the United Kingdom was an indispensable third party in the case and that the Special Chamber's granting of the request for maritime delimitation of Mauritius would violate the Principles of the Gold Monetary Case; Second, Mauritius has a dispute with the United Kingdom over the sovereignty of the Chagolis Archipelago, and in the absence of a clear claim over the Chagos Archipelago, the Special Chamber delimitation to it is a disguised recognition that the sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago belongs to Mauritius, which is inconsistent with the application and interpretation of the Convention; Fourth, there is no meaningful negotiation between Mauritius and Maldives on delimitation, since they do not have a maritime delimitation dispute with Mauritius, and the delimitation of the Special Chamber would be contrary to articles 74 and 83 of the Convention; Fifth, it is claimed that Mauritius has abused the procedure in this case, and that it is inadmissible even if the Special Court has jurisdiction over this submission. The first four grounds of the Maldives all relate to jurisdiction, namely, that there is no maritime delimitation dispute between Mauritius and the Goss Islands until the sovereignty of the Goss Islands is clarified, and that the claim for delimitation by Mauritius is not justiciable.
Then, in order to completely solve the maritime delimitation between Mauritius and Maldives, it is first necessary to know the historical development of their respective geographical locations, and to obtain preliminary insights on the sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago from the historical development of Mauritius, so it is necessary to understand the beginning and end of the Chagos Archipelago submission, from which some thoughts on the submission of Mauritius and Maldives can be derived.
Geographical location and historical development of Mauritius and Maldives
1. Geographical location and historical development of Mauritius
Located in the Indian Ocean, Mauritius is a volcanic island east of Africa, in the middle of the Musk Islands, across the sea from Madagascar Island, 800 kilometers from its east coast, 2,200 kilometers from South Africa, and more than 1,100 nautical miles from its archipelago, the Chagolis Archipelago. Mauritius has a total area of about 2,400 square kilometers and a population of about 1 million. Mauritius is a volcanic island nation surrounded by atolls with a peculiar landscape and a pillar of fisheries and tourism. The terrain of Mauritius is high in the middle and low in the four sides, making it a great place to escape the heat and cool off in summer. Gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1968.
2. Location and historical development of the Maldives
The Maldives is an island country in the Indian Ocean and belongs to South Asia. It is 517 km from the Chagolis Archipelago and nearly 900 km from the South Asian country of Sri Lanka. The Maldives is made up of about 2,000 islands, of which just over 200 are inhabited. The Maldives has a low elevation of 184 km overall. It also relies on fishing and tourism as its economic pillars, competing with the tourism industry in Mauritius.
III. On the Chagos Archipelago
Beginning and end of the submission of the Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago, the remnant of Mauritius' national independence, has historically belonged to Mauritius. In the 17th century, the British occupied Mauritius, making it an overseas British colony, which obtained Mauritius' abundant fishery resources, mineral and petroleum resources, as well as its advantageous geographical location, to build a British supply depot to India. In the mid-20th century, with the rise of the world national liberation movement, Mauritius signed an independence agreement with the United Kingdom in 1965, but in order to obtain independence from the British colonists as soon as possible, Mauritius temporarily renounced part of the sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago, allowing the Chagos Archipelago to be separated from the British and become a territory of the British Indian Ocean. However, Mauritius has actively campaigned for the sovereignty and independence of the Chagos Archipelago, with the following achievements: Mauritius still enjoys fishing rights in the area. and preserve Mauritius' mineral and petroleum resource interests in the region. When the island no longer has military value, the British will return the island to Mauritius. In 1968, all territories of Mauritius except the Chagos Archipelago gained independence.
After the United Nations, the main international organization, learned of the agreement between Mauritius and the United Kingdom to separate the Chagos Archipelago, its functional agency, the United Nations General Assembly, repeatedly passed resolutions requiring Britain not to commit any act of secession of Mauritius. It should transfer all its authority in Mauritius to the colonized Power, Mauritius, and it should be emphasized that colonial independence should be free of conditions.
Between 1968 and 1973, the British sent troops to deport the indigenous inhabitants of the Chagolis Archipelago several times. This provoked great dissatisfaction from the Mauritian authorities, who tried to negotiate with the United Kingdom, which, with the continuous efforts of Mauritius, agreed to compensate the indigenous people of the Chagolis Islands for economic and land losses. However, British follow-up practice made this negotiation a dead letter, and after 1975, the deported indigenous inhabitants of the Chagolis Islands sued the British courts for compensation on several occasions, without success. The British violated the spirit of the Covenant and angered the inhabitants of the Chagolis Islands and the people of Mauritius. Unaware of its mistake, the United Kingdom announced in April 2010 the establishment of a marine protected area in the Chagolis Archipelago, treating Mauritius, which should have sovereignty over the Chagolis Archipelago, as nothing, which caused many countries in the world to crusade and completely angered the Mauritian government. On 20 December 2010, Mauritius issued a Notice of Arbitration to the United Kingdom pursuant to Article 287 and Annex 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and made four requests to the arbitral tribunal.
2. Reasons for the sovereignty of Mauritius over the Chagos Archipelago
The author believes that Mauritius has sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago for the following reasons: First, from the perspective of historical origin: the Chagos Archipelago has been an inalienable part of the territory of Mauritius since ancient times, and the inhabitants of the archipelago are of the same origin as the inhabitants of Mauritius. Secondly, the Chagos Archipelago is only a legacy of Mauritius' quest for independence.
Judging from the historical background and reality at that time: in the 20th century, the colonial power was strong in comprehensive national strength, and independence from its hands was not easy, so in order to obtain independence as soon as possible, Mauritius had to give up part of its sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago when it actively fought for it without success, but its interests in the fishing rights and mineral and oil resources of the Chagos Archipelago have always been there. Today, peace and development are the mainstream of the world, and countries are equal and enjoy sovereignty and independence on an equal footing. Finally, from the practical point of view, the British expulsion of the original inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago is contrary to the spirit of the contract, and the United Kingdom first defaults, then Mauritius does not have to follow the original agreement and should enjoy full sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago.
Review of the maritime delimitation between Mauritius and Maldives
Having clarified the geographical location and historical development of the Maldives and Mauritius, as well as some of the author's views on the ownership of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, I would like to put forward the following views: With regard to the first four reasons put forward by the Maldives to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Mauritius considers that the Chagos Archipelago is part of our (Mauritius) sovereignty and naturally enjoys the right of exclusive economic zone within its maritime area, and the delimitation of Mauritius is reasonable. On the last point, Mauritius argues for the admissibility of the Special Chamber, which is based on the Convention procedure and has not been an abuse of procedure as described by Maldives. Thus, in the submission between Mauritius and Maldives, Mauritius enjoyed exclusive economic zone rights over the maritime area of the Chagos Archipelago and there was no dispute over the delimitation with Maldives. The reasons are as follows:
1. From the baseline division
According to the United States Department of State's FON Project No. 140 and the United States Department of State's FON Project No. 126, Mauritius and the Maldives are archipelagos in maritime delimitation and are therefore suitable for the delimitation method of archipelago baselines. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea contains certain provisions relating to archipelagic States. Article 46 provides that "archipelagic State" means "a State consisting solely of one or more archipelagos and may include other islands". An archipelago is defined as "a group of islands comprising parts of the islands, interconnected waters and other closely related natural features that form an intrinsic geographical, economic, and political entity, or have historically been thought to be so." ”
Only "archipelagic States" can delimit the baseline of the archipelago. Article 47 sets out the criteria to be observed by archipelagic States in establishing an archipelago baseline. Under article 47 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, an archipelagic State may draw straight archipelago baselines connecting the outermost islands of the archipelago and the outermost point of dry reefs, provided that those baselines include areas in which the size of the main islands and waters is in proportion. to land area, including atolls, between 1 to 1 and 9 to 1. In addition, the length of any baseline segment shall not exceed 100 nautical miles, but up to 3% of baselines may have a length of up to 125 nanometers (Article 47.2). The additional provision to Article 47 provides that such baselines shall not deviate in any significant way from the general pattern of the Islands; Such baselines should not be drawn.
(i) Baseline delimitation of the Mauritius Islands
Mauritius uses archipelago baselines for St. Brandon and the Chagos Archipelago. Located about 240 nautical miles north of Mauritius, St. Brandon is an atoll surrounded by islands, coral reefs, sandbars and shoals. The Chagos Archipelago, located more than 1,100 nautical miles northeast of Rigyus Island, is a group of atolls. The two archipelago baseline systems consist of 35 island baseline segments ranging in length from 0.13 nm (C46-47 segments) to 80.05 nm (C70-C46 segments), for a total length of 486.15 nm. To be consistent with the LOS Convention, each archipelago baseline system must contain an "archipelago" as defined in Article 46 of the LOS Convention and also meet the criteria set forth in Article 47. Both of the archipelago baseline systems in Mauritius meet the land and water area ratios specified in Article 47.1:
Saint Brandon:
Total area = 1,034 square kilometers Water area = 765 square kilometers land area
=269 square kilometers 12 land and water area ratio = 2.84:1
Chagos Archipelago:
Total area = 7,388 square kilometers Water area = 6,520 square kilometers land area
=868 square kilometers13 Land-water area ratio = 7.5:1
In accordance with Article 47.2 of the LOS Convention, none of the baseline segments is more than 100 nautical miles in length. Annex 6 of this study lists the length of each baseline segment claimed by Mauritius. The configuration of the baseline does not appear to deviate significantly from the general configuration of the Islands (article 47.3). None of the baselines appear to have been drawn using low-tide elevations (Article 47.4). The baselines are drawn in such a way as not separating the territorial sea of another State from the high seas or exclusive economic zone (Article 47.5). Thus, the archipelago baseline system provided for in the Mauritius Maritime Areas (Baselines and Delimitation Lines) Regulations 2005 appears to be consistent with article 47 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
(ii) Baseline division of the Maldives Islands
The straight baseline points measured in the Maldives are located in 13 of them (see Table 3). The remaining 12 atolls are located within the archipelago's straight baseline system and are considered land territory within the archipelago. The archipelago's straight baseline system meets the land-to-water area ratio criteria set out in Article 47.1:
Total area = 21,350 square nautical miles (73,100 sq km), water area = 15,500 sq nautical miles (53,000 sq km), land area = 5,900 sq nautical miles (20,130 sq km)
Therefore, the land to water area ratio is 2.63:1.
Article 47.2 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides that the length of the baseline shall not exceed 100 miles, but 3% of the total number of baseline segments encircling any archipelago may exceed that length, up to a maximum of 125 miles. The Maldives Islands straight baseline system consists of 37 segments, with only one section allowed to exceed 100 miles in length. However, the length of the three baseline segments exceeds 100 miles (segments 14-15, 28-29, and 36-37). The Maldives therefore does not meet this requirement of article 47.2 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. *Section 37 varies in length from 0.2 miles (segments 2-3) to 120.3 miles (segments 36-37).
(Figure II: Maldives Islands baseline)
(3) Conclusion
The above-mentioned author's explanation of the method of delimitation of the baselines of the Mauritius and Maldives archipelagos shows that the delimitation of the Chagos Archipelago by Mauritius is in accordance with the delimitation of the archipelago baselines in article 47 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and is reasonable and legal. Therefore, the reasons for the Maldives are not substantiated.
2. The principle of fairness and impartiality
The principle of fairness and justice should be taken into account in maritime delimitation. The Chagolis Archipelago has been part of Mauritius since ancient times, and its geography, history, humanities and many other factors are the same as Mauritius, and the indigenous people of the archipelago also have a strong sense of identity with Mauritius; And to take a step back, even if the sovereignty of the Chagolis Archipelago is undecided, the agreement between Mauritius and the United Kingdom clearly states that the Maldives enjoys fishing rights and mineral and oil resources interests in the Chagolis Archipelago, which will not change, so even if the Maldives resorts to victory, Mauritius' original rights to the Chagolis Archipelago will not change; Mauritius and the Maldives are geographically separated (see Figure 3), they are both countries with tourism as the pillar of the economy, and they are developing countries together, and they are jointly seeking tourism development and creating tourism cooperation plans that are the way to survive. There must be no dispute over the Chagolis archipelago, and we cannot fall into the trap of the developed country, Britain. Therefore, taking into account many factors, Mauritius and Maldives should settle their dispute peacefully.
(Figure 3: Location map of Mauritius and Maldives)
3. About the Chagolis Archipelago again
The author explains the above-mentioned method of delimitation of the base of the Chagolis Archipelago by Mauritius, and it is necessary to mention that Mauritius certainly enjoys sovereignty over the Chagolis Archipelago, and no country or organization can change this fact. The objection of the Maldives to the demarcation of the Mauritius boundary is simply nonsense. First, the Chagolis Archipelago is part of Mauritius, and even if it has not yet acquired nominal sovereignty, in essence Mauritius has fishing rights and mineral and petroleum resources interests in the Chagolis Archipelago. Second, even if the Chagolis Islands fail on the road back to Mauritius, the Maldives has an even slimmer chance of winning against Britain. Instead of this, it is better to recognize the sovereign status of the Chagolis Islands; Lastly, Maldives was far from the Chagolis Archipelago and there was no need to suffer the rejection of the international community for its rights.
4. Jurisdiction
In accordance with articles 74 and 83 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone and the limits of the continental shelf between States with opposite or adjacent coasts shall be determined by agreement on the basis of international law referred to in article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice in order to achieve a fair settlement. If the States concerned fail to reach any agreement within a reasonable period of time, they shall resort to the procedure provided for in Part XV. However, when Mauritius' request for delimitation was submitted, the Maldives did not claim to consult with it, but resorted directly to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Accordingly, Mauritius is also not subject to an obligation to exchange views under article 283 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Moreover, Mauritius and Maldives do not qualify as coastal neighbours or opposite countries, and they are separated by more than 2,200 kilometres and are neither adjacent nor facing each other. Mauritius is a reasonable delimitation of its territory, in conformity with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Accordingly, there was no abuse of procedure in Mauritius, which the Special Court had jurisdiction and competence to entertain.
Conclusion: The maritime delimitation case between Mauritius and Maldives is based on the dispute arising from the sovereignty of the Chagolis Archipelago, and the author discusses the main settlement points of the dispute from the historical origin of Chagolis and why it belongs to Mauritius, and concludes that Mauritius enjoys sovereignty over the Chagolis Archipelago and that the Maldives has five reasons for not being valid.
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