Our Series on Tiny Disputes takes us to the Mozambique Channel, in Southeastern Africa.
The Mozambique Channel has been the theater of a territorial dispute between France and Madagascar since the independence of the latter in 1960. A number of uninhabited low lying islands located about halfway between Madagascar and the coast of Africa were detached from the Colony of Madagascar shortly before independence and formed a separate territory known as the "scattered islands of the Indian Ocean". These are, from North to South, the Glorioso Islands (also claimed by Comoros), Juan Da Nova, Bassas Da India and Europa. Tromelin, which is located East of Madagascar, is also part of the territory.
The reason for the administrative change was that France was operating weather stations and wanted to maintain a presence in a region that sees a lot of maritime commercial traffic. As offshore resources became more and more strategic, the value of the Exclusive Economic Zone around the islands grew significantly. Madagascar has objected to this status from the beginning and even got a UN resolution in 1979 demanding the return of the Islands to Madagascar. As of today, they remain under French administration, as part of the French Austral and Antarctic Lands.
The Mozambique Channel Dispute
