BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 3. Vanuatu has filed an official appeal with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), protesting France’s ongoing colonial policy and illegal territorial claims on the islands of Matthew and Hunter, under its jurisdiction.
This was announced in a statement published by the Baku Initiative Group (BIG).
According to the BIG, the appeal also calls for a settlement of the maritime delimitation between Vanuatu and Kanaky (New Caledonia), which is under French colonial rule.
Vanuatu is an island nation located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in the Melanesian region. The country is an archipelago consisting of approximately 83 islands and is situated northeast of Australia and east of New Caledonia. Matthew and Hunter Islands are two small but strategically important islands located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, between the southern islands of Vanuatu and Kanak (New Caledonia), which is under French colonial rule.
The legal status of these islands, which have a total land area of 1.3 square kilometers, is not limited solely to the issue of sovereignty. Their ownership directly affects the definition of territorial waters, the exclusive economic zone (350,000 square kilometers), and the continental shelf, as well as the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Vanuatu and Kanaka. The presence of an exclusive economic zone of approximately 350,000 square kilometers surrounding the islands further enhances their strategic and economic importance.
Although negotiations were held three times between Vanuatu and France regarding the status of the islands and the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Vanuatu and Kanaka, the process has failed to yield results due to France’s unconstructive approach to a just and lawful resolution of this issue based on the fundamental principles of international law, its disregard for Vanuatu’s sovereignty, and its continued territorial claims inherited from the colonial past.
Meanwhile, forces advocating for Kanak independence have repeatedly supported Vanuatu’s position on the Matthew and Hunter Islands. This position was formalized in the Keamu Agreement, signed in 2009 between the Government of Vanuatu and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front, and was reaffirmed in subsequent years. In May 2026, FLNKS leader Christian Téin reaffirmed this support. Furthermore, the Senate of New Caledonia, acting under customary law, recognized the islands as belonging to Vanuatu in 2009.
