The Maldives said Thursday that it objected to a UK-Mauritius deal on the Chagos Islands to transfer Chagos sovereignty to Mauritius from the UK.
Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu told parliament that the government formally submitted objections to the UK on Nov. 8, 2024, and Jan. 18, 2026, expressing "rejection of this decision."
A statement from the presidential office said Muizzu noted that during a Dec. 15 call with British Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, "he conveyed the Maldives' desire for further consultations on the matter."
Muizzu told lawmakers that legal proceedings have commenced to recover the maritime area lost following the ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
He also announced the government's decision to rescind a letter sent by former Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to Mauritius on Aug. 22, 2022, which recognized Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.
The developments come as the US and the UK have exchanged heated arguments about the island.
Planned parliamentary debates on the UK's deal to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius were delayed last month following backlash from US President Donald Trump.
The debate on the deal resurfaced after Trump criticized the agreement signed by the UK and Mauritius as "an act of great stupidity."
Last May, the UK and Mauritius signed a deal to transfer sovereignty to the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, ending more than two centuries of British rule, in exchange for allowing the US and UK to continue operating the strategically important Diego Garcia military base for the next 99 years.
The agreement has not yet entered into force, as it is pending domestic ratification.
The Chagos Archipelago, a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the central Indian Ocean, is located 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of the Maldives.
