Riffath: Interests of Maldives vigorously defended, pleased with the result

Attorney General (AG) Ibrahim RIffath, underscoring Maldives’ interests have been vigorously defended in the maritime dispute between Maldives and Mauritius, states he is pleased with International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea’s (ITLOS) ruling in the case.

In a tweet following the ruling, AG Riffath said Friday’s decision leads to Maldives now having a maritime boundary, consistent with its views and expectations as to its rights under international law.

He also said that the Government of Maldives, under the leadership of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and its international legal team, defended vigorously defended the interests of the Maldives in the case.

A statement by the Attorney General’s Office on Friday night said ITLOS’ ruling awarded Maldives 47,232 square kilometers from the 95,563 square kilometers of maritime territory in dispute while Mauritius was awarded 45,331 square kilometers.

The GoM under the leadership of His Excellency President @ibusolih and its international legal team vigorously defended the interests of the Maldives in Mauritius v Maldives, #ITLOSCase28 and I am very pleased with the results.

— I Riffath (@ibriffath) April 28, 2023

ITLOS also concluded that it is not in a position to determine the entitlement of Mauritius to the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in the Northern Chagos Archipelago Region and decided subsequently it will not proceed to delimit the continental shelf between Mauritius and the Maldives beyond 200 nautical miles.

While Maldives has accepted Mauritius’ sovereignty claim over Chagos islands, as informed to Mauritius' Prime Minister via a letter by the Maldivian President, the nation did not change its stand on the maritime border dispute with Mauritius regarding the conflicting EEZ.