Majority Leader of the Parliament of the Maldives Mohamed Aslam has stated that the Parliament was provided with detailed information on the maritime dispute between the Maldives and Mauritius and concluded that it would not result in any nationally damaging conclusion, such as the Maldives losing territory.
While debating the emergency motion on the maritime dispute, Majority Leader Aslam said that Attorney General (AG) Ibrahim Riffath has disclosed information on the defense proceedings of the Maldives in the maritime dispute to the Parliament, dispute claims to the contrary.
Also debating the motion, Parliamentary Group (PG) Leader of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Mohamed Aslam shed light on the international laws that resulted in the charting of the Maldivian maritime borders and said the laws should be carefully studied, as the baseline chart has points that are contrary to the laws. He said he has received information that some foreign vessels trespass Maldivian territory after determining they are travelling through international waters.
Additionally, Aslam said the Maldives is legally allowed to discuss and sign agreements to solve issues in the maritime borders between other countries. He highlighted that such agreements were made for the northern region of the Maldives. He assured the government will not give any leeway in the dispute with Mauritius and will not make any agreement that would result in any loss of territory.
Parliamentarian of the opposition People’s National Congress (PNC) Adam Shareef proposed the emergency motion to call on the government to explain why it had changed its policy on such issues, claiming that the Maldives would lose 96,000sqkm of its territorial waters if it lost the dispute with Mauritius.