{"id":46596,"date":"2026-08-17T14:43:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T10:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/?p=46596"},"modified":"2026-08-17T14:43:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T10:43:07","slug":"chagos-proactive-diplomacy-cannot-wait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/chagos-proactive-diplomacy-cannot-wait\/","title":{"rendered":"Chagos: Proactive Diplomacy Cannot Wait"},"content":{"rendered":"

International Relations<\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

Lacking major power weight, our advantage lies in anticipation, preparedness, consistency, and mobilizing international law and diplomacy<\/em><\/span><\/h4>\n

By Vijay Makhan<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Barely a week after I argued in these columns that Mauritius must retain the diplomatic initiative on Chagos, developments in both London and Mal\u00e9 (Maldives) reinforce that imperative. The appropriate response is neither public agitation nor diplomatic overreaction. It is quiet preparedness, sustained engagement and anticipation of what may come next.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span>The Maldives and the Chagos. Pic – sanatanprabhat.org<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week, writing under the title \u201cKeeping the Diplomatic Initiative\u201d<\/em>,<\/strong>\u00a0I drew attention to the succession of Parliamentary Questions in the House of Lords and, more particularly, to the carefully calibrated and distinctly non-committal responses emanating from the British government.<\/span><\/p>\n

My purpose was not to suggest that the UK-Mauritius Agreement had been abandoned. It was rather to sound a note of caution. Diplomacy cannot be conducted on the assumption that an agreement, once signed, will necessarily implement itself. Mauritius must remain vigilant, engaged and, above all, proactive.<\/span><\/p>\n

Developments since then have only reinforced that conviction.<\/span><\/p>\n

No Ministerial Contact?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A reply provided by the FCDO on 4 August is, in that respect, particularly revealing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Asked about ministerial-level engagement between London and Port Louis on the Chagos issue, the response indicated that there had been no ministerial contact since 20 January<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

If that is indeed the position, it should give us pause.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not because ministerial conversations constitute the entirety of diplomacy. They plainly do not. Diplomatic channels remain open through High Commissions, officials and other forms of engagement. Nor do we know everything that may have occurred through channels not reflected in a Parliamentary Answer. But more than six months without ministerial-level contact on an issue of such fundamental importance to Mauritius would sit uneasily with the very principle I sought to emphasise in these columns only last week — keep the diplomatic initiative.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Chagos dossier should be kept constantly on the burner.<\/span><\/p>\n

This does not mean pestering London with repetitive representations or transforming every diplomatic encounter into another discussion about Chagos. It means ensuring that the issue remains firmly present within the political dialogue between our two governments and that Port Louis is never reduced to awaiting developments in Westminster before determining its response.<\/span><\/p>\n

The same principle applies to Washington.<\/span><\/p>\n

The strategic interests of the United States in Diego Garcia are central to the arrangements under consideration. Continuous political engagement with Washington should therefore be regarded not as an occasional adjunct to our discussions with London but as an indispensable component of the process.<\/span><\/p>\n

We should be talking consistently to both.<\/span><\/p>\n

And Now Mal\u00e9<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

There is an added reason why such engagement has acquired greater urgency.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Maldives has indicated that it is consulting international experts regarding its claim over Chagos and considering how the issue might be pursued internationally. Whatever the ultimate legal merits of that position, Mal\u00e9 appears to be moving beyond political declarations towards the elaboration of a legal and diplomatic strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mauritius should, in my view, resist any temptation to engage in a public exchange with the Maldives. There is little to be gained by doing so.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our position rests upon a formidable body of international law and international legitimacy, the 2019 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, the subsequent United Nations General Assembly Resolution, the relevant findings of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and the consistent support extended to Mauritius by the African Union and the wider international community.<\/span><\/p>\n

We do not need to shout about that record. We need to be ready to deploy it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do Not React — Prepare<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

If the Maldives is consulting international lawyers, Mauritius should already be ensuring that its own legal preparation is complete. If Mal\u00e9 is examining possible avenues through which to internationalise its claim, Port Louis should be anticipating what those avenues might be. And if arguments are being assembled elsewhere, our counter-arguments should not await their formal presentation before being prepared.<\/span><\/p>\n

That is proactive diplomacy.<\/span><\/p>\n

There should therefore already be a discreet examination of every plausible legal or multilateral avenue available to the Maldives; the jurisdictional issues that would arise; the relevance of the ICJ Advisory Opinion, the UNGA Resolution and the ITLOS proceedings; the Maldives\u2019 own previous positions; and the diplomatic support upon which Mauritius could rely should the issue eventually surface in an international forum.<\/span><\/p>\n

Preparation for possible litigation does not imply that litigation is inevitable. It means ensuring that we are never taken by surprise.<\/span><\/p>\n

Engage London – Quietly<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

There is another dimension which should perhaps receive greater attention. The United Kingdom and Mauritius may still have matters to resolve concerning implementation of their Agreement, but on the fundamental question of sovereignty their interests now intersect in an important respect. London negotiated and signed an Agreement recognising Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago. It therefore has its own political, legal and diplomatic interest in defending the integrity of the settlement it concluded.<\/span><\/p>\n

This creates an opportunity which Mauritius should quietly explore. Without dramatising the Maldivian statements, Port Louis should begin discussions with London about the implications of any attempt by Mal\u00e9 to internationalise its claim and about the manner in which the two governments might respond should that eventuality arise.<\/span><\/p>\n

This need not take the form of a public alliance against the Maldives. Indeed, it would be preferable that it did not. It should simply be part of the normal diplomatic conversation between two governments that have concluded an international agreement concerning the very territory whose sovereignty a third state now proposes to contest.<\/span><\/p>\n

And here, again, the importance of sustained ministerial contact becomes evident. It is difficult to build common diplomatic positions if political dialogue is allowed to lie dormant.<\/span><\/p>\n

London, Washington and the Wider International Community<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Mauritius should therefore be operating simultaneously along several tracks. Ministerial engagement with London should be re-energised. Washington should remain continuously engaged. Our traditional partners should be kept properly informed. Our African partners, particularly through the African Union, and other regional organisations should remain alert to any attempt to reopen a decolonisation question upon which Africa has spoken with remarkable consistency.<\/span><\/p>\n

None of this requires megaphone diplomacy. Quite the contrary. Some of the most effective diplomacy is conducted away from microphones. What matters is that when developments eventually become public, the necessary diplomatic groundwork has already been laid.<\/span><\/p>\n

That is particularly important for a small state. We do not possess the political, economic or strategic weight of the major powers. Our advantage must therefore lie elsewhere — in anticipation, preparedness, consistency and the intelligent mobilisation of international law and diplomatic partnerships.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is precisely a proposition I develop in my forthcoming monograph on the changing geopolitics of the Indian Ocean – in today\u2019s fragmented and increasingly unpredictable international environment, small and vulnerable states cannot afford the luxury of reactive diplomacy. Strategic foresight and the capacity to retain the initiative have become necessities of statecraft.<\/span><\/p>\n

Retaining the Initiative — Again<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Returning to the subject barely a week after writing \u201cKeeping the Diplomatic Initiative\u201d<\/em>, events themselves seem determined to make the point. If there has indeed been no ministerial contact between London and Port Louis on Chagos since 20 January, that hiatus should now end. Not because Mauritius should panic. Not because the Agreement is necessarily imperilled. And certainly not because every statement from Mal\u00e9 requires a response from Port Louis. But because diplomacy abhors a vacuum. Leave space, others will inevitably seek to occupy it.<\/span><\/p>\n

We have travelled too far on the Chagos journey to allow ourselves now to become reactive. The legal achievements painstakingly accumulated over the years provide us with considerable strength. But legal strength must be accompanied by diplomatic vigilance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our response to the latest developments should therefore be calm but purposeful — no public quarrel with Mal\u00e9, rather quiet preparation for every eventuality. Renewed political engagement with London and sustained dialogue with Washington. And constant attention to the wider international constituency that has supported Mauritius throughout the Chagos struggle.<\/span><\/p>\n

That is not alarmism. It is foresight.<\/span><\/p>\n

And for a small state navigating increasingly turbulent geopolitical waters, it is not merely desirable statecraft. It is an imperative.<\/span><\/p>\n

12 August 2026<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 14 August 2026<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

International Relations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":46597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[28],"tags":[697,164,62518,845,12336,62432,62516,62521,62520,4945,20419,61569,21124,62519,49088,17487,1147,62515,119,36,62517,273,4134,8034,13348,1077,35511],"class_list":["post-46596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-affairs","tag-african-union","tag-chagos","tag-chagos-dossier","tag-diego-garcia","tag-diplomacy","tag-diplomatic-initiative","tag-fcdo","tag-geopolitical-waters","tag-international-agreement","tag-international-court-of-justice","tag-international-law","tag-international-legitimacy","tag-international-tribunal-for-the-law-of-the-sea","tag-legal-preparation","tag-litigation","tag-london","tag-maldives","tag-male","tag-mauritius","tag-mauritius-times","tag-ministerial-contact","tag-port-louis","tag-sovereignty","tag-un-general-assembly-resolution","tag-united-kingdom","tag-vijay-makhan","tag-washington"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8QzSF-c7y","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Chagossians-protest-in-London.-Pic-Politico.jpg?fit=1200%2C752&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46596"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46610,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46596\/revisions\/46610"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}