Former President Mohamed Nasheed has stated that the opportunity for the Maldives to acquire sovereign power over the Chagos Archipelago (Foalhavahi) remains intact, following a delay in the UK Parliament’s vote to hand the territory over to Mauritius.

Writing on X, Nasheed noted that the vote in the UK House of Lords on the bill to designate the Chagos Archipelago as Mauritian property has been postponed for the time being. Describing this as a hopeful development for Maldivians, he asserted that the possibility of establishing Maldivian state authority over Foalhavahi has not been completely lost.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu also recently delivered a strong message regarding this issue, declaring that the Maldives has a greater claim to the ownership of Chagos than Mauritius. Geographically, Chagos lies 1,300 miles away from the Mauritian capital, Port Louis, whereas it is only 310 miles from the Maldivian capital, Malé. This proximity significantly bolsters the argument that the islands are a natural extension of the Maldives.

Historical evidence further highlights the long-standing connection between Foalhavahi and Maldivians. Royal decrees from 16th-century Maldivian kings confirm state authority over the region a century before human settlement in Mauritius. Additionally, tombstones over 900 years old found on the islands featuring Dhivehi inscriptions serve as tangible proof of ancient Maldivian activity. With this latest decision by the UK, the effort to claim Foalhavahi—historically and geographically linked to the Maldives—has received renewed vitality.