Although President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has requested formal talks on the sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago, the United Kingdom has stated that the matter is not one that concerns the Maldives.

Speaking to Reuters, an official from the UK Foreign Office said that while regular discussions are held with the Maldivian government on a range of issues, the question of ownership over the Chagos Archipelago is strictly a bilateral matter between the United Kingdom and Mauritius. The official further noted that it was precisely for this reason that, in 2022, negotiations on the matter were initiated with Mauritius rather than with the Maldives.

The statement comes after President Muizzu sent a letter to British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, requesting that formal talks be opened between the two countries regarding sovereignty over Chagos. In the letter, the President stated that Chagos is a territory deeply tied to the history of the Maldives and that it is a land rightfully belonging to the Maldives.

Securing Chagos for the Maldivian people is one of President Muizzu’s campaign pledges. He has previously said that if the territory — historically a Maldivian land — is to be handed over to any party, the Maldives holds the strongest claim to it.

The United Kingdom decided last year to transfer sovereignty of Chagos, which had long been used as a joint UK–US military base, to Mauritius. Under the agreement, the UK will lease the territory back from Mauritius for USD 100 million per year. Earlier, in 2021, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) had ruled that the United Kingdom holds no sovereign authority over the Chagos Archipelago.