Maldives’ leader calls Mauritius’ decision to sever ties ‘immature’ and ‘naïve’

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu on Monday called Mauritius’ decision to suspend diplomatic ties with the Maldives over its stand on Chagos “immature” and “naïve”, as the two Indian Ocean nations make opposing claims over the archipelago.

On Friday, Mauritius’ cabinet decided to suspend all diplomatic relations with the Maldives for no longer recognizing Mauritius sovereignty over Chagos archipelago, and objecting to the UK-Mauritius agreement whereby UK had agreed to handover Chagos archipelago to Mauritius.

At a press briefing on Monday morning, President Muizzu called the decision to sever diplomatic ties “immature.”

“The decision by Mauritius to sever diplomatic ties with the Maldives is a very nonsensical, very immature and naïve decision. This decision does not change the reality. Even if Mauritius severs diplomatic ties with the Maldives, it cannot claim a place it has no rightful claim to,” he said.

President Muizzu said that if the UK should hand over Chagos to another country, it should be to the Maldives.

“This reality will not change even if they sever ties,” said President Muizzu. “They decided to do this unilaterally and without any prior discussion. It’s very naïve.”

President Muizzu said that the Maldives will not change its stand, and will always put “Maldives first.”

In May 2025, the UK officially agreed to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius, ending over two centuries of British rule, in exchange for allowing the United States and UK to continue operating the strategically important Diego Garcia military base for the next 99 years.

But on February 5, Maldivian President Dr Mohamed Muizzu told the Parliament that the government formally submitted objections to the UK on November 8, 2024 and January 18, 2026, rejecting the handover of Chagos to Mauritius.

He also announced the decision to retract a letter sent to Mauritius government by his predecessor, former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih back in 2022, acknowledging Mauritius’ sovereign authority over the Chagos archipelago following the country’s independence from British colonial rule.

He has long asserted that the Maldives is geographically closer, more historically connected, and legally better placed than Mauritius to assert sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, known in the Maldives as Foalhavahi.

UK, which had severed the Chagos Islands from Mauritius before independence, claiming it to be a part of British-Indian Ocean Territory in the Indian Ocean, had forcibly deported over thousands of inhabitants of Diego Garcia, the largest of the 60 small islands in the archipelago, so that they could lease the island to the US for a military base.

Maldives became involved in the dispute as the country's exclusive economic zone overlaps with that of Chagos.

In April 2023, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) concluded that the 95,563 square kilometer area between Mauritius and Maldives would be divided between the two using the equidistance formula.

The ruling granted the Maldives 47,232 square kilometers, while awarding 45,331 square kilometers to Mauritius.

However, President Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC) has long asserted that the Maldives is entitled to the entire 95,563 square kilometers.

For the longest time, UK refused to comply with decisions by international bodies urging the handover of Chagos Islands to Mauritius – deeming the British occupation of the islands illegal. This included the 2019 decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations’ highest court.

In a turn of events, UK agreed to Mauritius regarding handover of Chagos in November 2022, and in 2025, the UK signed a multibillion-dollar deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands. The deal allowed Britain to retain control of the strategically important US-UK air base on Diego Garcia under a 99-year lease.