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.