Islands of dispute: Vanuatu ready to take France to UN

Vanuatu is seeking to open a case against France at the International Court of Justice over two disputed and strategically important islands in the Pacific Ocean, the court said on September 1.

The Pacific island has applied to initiate proceedings at the ICJ, but under court rules, the case can only go ahead if France agrees that international judges have jurisdiction over the dispute, according to Le Monde. 

"Vanuatu's application has been transmitted to France," the court said in a press release. "However, no action will be taken in the proceedings unless and until France consents to the court's jurisdiction in the case," added the ICJ.

The volcanic islands of Matthew and Hunter lie several hundred kilometres east of the French overseas territory of New Caledonia but are also claimed by the island nation of Vanuatu, which won independence from joint British and French rule in 1980.

Modern France still has overseas territories across the globe, from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean and Pacific, legacies of the colonial era that are now vital strategic footholds for Paris. Although these islands are uninhabited, sovereignty over Matthew and Hunter allows New Caledonia, and therefore France, to have a large exclusive economic zone.

Vanuatu has previously staked a claim to the islands on cultural and historical grounds, saying that the people in the south of Vanuatu have long-standing ties to the islets.

Earlier this year, Vanuatu's Prime Minister Jotham Napat had accused France of colonialism over the dispute and threatened to use "all diplomatic and international legal means" if discussions broke down. 

The French Foreign Ministry acknowledged the issue was a "long-standing dispute" dating back to Vanuatu's independence. There is no question of ceding sovereignty over the islands, Paris says.

Caliber.Az notes that Vanuatu actively supports the FLNKS (The Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front). The two are linked by close ethnocultural ties and a long-standing political partnership rooted in Melanesian solidarity and the struggle against colonialism. Vanuatu is one of the main supporters of New Caledonia’s independence from France.