France asserts claim on disputed Pacific islands as Vanuatu appeals to ICJ

Speaking at a conference of Pacific islands hosted by Palau, the head of the French delegation on Wednesday reaffirmed France's sovereignty over the islands of Matthew and Hunter.

“France's position is clear and firm,” said Éléonore Caroit, junior minister for the French-speaking world at the French Foreign Ministry. “It is a position of dialogue, a position of openness, but it is especially a reaffirmation of France's sovereignty over these islands.”

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced on Tuesday that Vanuatu had filed a case asking it to rule on the dispute, but that no proceedings would take place until France consents to its jurisdiction over the matter.

The uninhabited volcanic islands lie several hundred kilometres east of the French overseas territory of New Caledonia.

Vanuatu has claimed the islands since it gained independence from France and the United Kingdom in 1980.

Though they have a combined area of less than one square kilometre, they give France an exclusive economic zone of 350,000 square kilometres, in a region where the United States and China are competing for influence.

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Sovereignty 'never on the table' 

Vanuatu asked the ICJ to rule on “the establishment of a single maritime boundary between the exclusive economic zones and continental shelf of Vanuatu and France (with respect to New Caledonia)”.

France and Vanuatu began talks to seek an agreement in 2025, focusing on the boundaries of their exclusive economic zones. The talks were due to continue in early 2026, but were postponed to avoid overlapping with elections in New Caledonia.

In May, Vanuatu's Prime Minister Jotham Napat accused France of colonialism over the dispute and threatened to use “all diplomatic and international legal means” if discussions broke down.

At the forum in Palau, Vanuatu's environment minister, Ralph Regenvanu, said: “We decided that we had discussed this issue long enough and we have now submitted a request to the court.”

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France's acknowledges Vanuatu's request to open the case at the ICJ, Caroit responded, and will respond regarding “jurisdiction” and “the merits of the case”.

There is a need “to discuss, to negotiate and to try to find solutions without relinquishing sovereignty. That was never on the table,” she added.

The French government in December denied it was planning to cede sovereignty after far-right leader Marine Le Pen accused President Emmanuel Macron of seeking to give up overseas territories.

If France does not accept the ICJ's jurisdiction, Vanuatu can request an advisory opinion through a majority vote in the United Nations General Assembly, Regenvanu said.

Among the evidence Vanuatu plans to present, he cited a “cultural dossier” backed by the customary chiefs of Kanaky in New Caledonia – traditional Indigenous leaders whose authority is recognised within New Caledonia's institutions under French law – who affirm that Matthew and Hunter belong to Vanuatu.

(with AFP)