Exclusive Economic Zones

Slides on Conflicts in the East Asian Seas

Disputed Islands in the East Asian SeasDear Readers,

East Asian Seas MapRegular GeoCurrents posts continue to be delayed, due to a combination of illness and teaching obligations. Today’s post merely links to a set of slides that I used for my lecture last night on territorial conflicts in the East Asian Seas. I made several original maps (on Google and Google Earth base maps), which are posted here directly.

Six Seas of Eurasia's Eastern RimNext week’s lecture  will be on the 2015 UK election. I hope to write a blog post or two on the election before  next Tuesday.

East Asia Seas Conflicts

Contested French Islands and Sea-Space in the Western Indian Ocean

Map of French Islands and Exclusive Economic Zones in the Western Indian OceanAs was recently discussed in GeoCurrents, France’s incorporation of Mayotte as an overseas department has been attributed by some to the quest for geo-strategic advantage. It is difficult to see, however, exactly what advantage is gained. It is true that the possession of Mayotte gives France an extensive maritime realm by way of the 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) that is attached to all land holdings. But France already possessed both Mayotte and its attached sea-space before the island was transformed into an integral part of the French republic. France’s hold on this area was perhaps solidified with Mayotte’s political transformation, as the island’s previous quasi-colonial status gave it some vulnerability. Still, it was not exactly as if the people of Mayotte were clamoring for independence. In the end, it seems likely that the French government acted largely out of a sense of fair play; the people of Mayotte clearly wanted union with France, and as a result their wish was granted. Whether France will now provide the island with the economic resources that its people regard as rightfully theirs by virtue of their full membership in the French nation is another matter altogether.

Regardless of the status of Mayotte, France clearly has a strong geopolitical position in the western Indian Ocean. As the maps indicate, the possession of numerous islands in the area gives France several large exclusive economic zones. French sea-space almost encircles Madagascar. Two French holdings here are overseas departments, integral parts of the republic: Réunion, which became an overseas department in 1946, and Mayotte, which joined the republic in March, 2011. France’s other maritime zones in the vicinity derive from its ownership of the so-called Scattered Islands, officially the Îles éparses de l’océan indien.  The terrestrial extent of these islets is not large. The total land area of the Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, the Bassas da India, Europa Island and Tromelin Island totals 38.6 km², of which 28.0 km² are accounted for by the giant of the group, Europa. The Bassas da India, in contrast, totals all of 0.2 km², yet its EEZ covers 123,700 km² of maritime space.

Map of Contested Islands and Exclusive Economic Zones in the Western Indian OceanFrance’s terrestrial and maritime claims in the area have not gone uncontested. As we have seen, the Comoros continues to claim Mayotte and its EEZ, despite the expressed desires of the people of the island. Madagascar claims the smaller islands in the Mozambique Channel: Europa, Bassas da India, and Juan de Nova. Tromelin, east of Madagascar, is claimed by both Mauritius and the Seychelles. The five square kilometers of the Glorioso Islands, along with the surrounding seas, are claimed by no less than four countries: France (which has control), the Comoros, Madagascar, and the Seychelles. As a result, this speck of an island is one of the world’s most contested zones, although it does not really compare to the Spratly Islands, all of parts of which are claimed by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei. (The Spratly Islands dispute is also much more hotly contested than the obscure Glorioso disagreement.)

Map of Europa IslandOutside of densely populated Mayotte and Réunion, the French islands in the vicinity of Madagascar lack permanent human habitation. All but the Bassas da India, however, boast landing strips, meteorological stations, and small French garrisons. According to the Wikipedia, the total “population” of the Îles Éparses is fifty-six. Of all the Scattered Islands, only Europa is really large enough to potentially support permanent human inhabitation. Several settlement attempts were made in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but all failed. As the last map indicates, the remains of an old sisal plantation are evidently still visible.

The Republic of Hau Pakumoto?


The globe-spanning European empires of the 1800s were essentially dismantled in the decades following World War II, with one important exception. In the maritime realm, empire lingers in the form of continuing colonial control over small oceanic islands, some inhabited, others not. If one includes the 200 nautical-mile exclusive economic zones that sovereign states control around their island holdings, such oceanic “empires” cover a substantial portion of the earth’s surface. As the map reproduced above shows, France’s maritime sphere is vast and far-flung, giving France a truly global reach.

France governs its various insular and oceanic territories in different ways. Some of its islands (Reunion, Guadeloupe, and Martinique) are integral units of the country, as much parts of France as Hawaii is part of the United States. Most others are organized as “overseas collectivities,” ruled in a more colonial manner. The sizable and resource-rich island of New Caledonia, however, is classified as a “sui generis collectivity”; its ties to France are structured in a unique and particularly complex manner.

While France undoubtedly exploited its colonial domains, today its vestiges of empire are more consistently subsidized. Such revenue flows, however, do not prevent chafing against the existing regime. Independence movements and other organized forms of resistance are found in most of the inhabited islands ruled by France, even Corsica. In February 2009, protests in Guadeloupe and Martinique turned deadly, forcing Paris to send in police reinforcements. Focused mostly at the high cost of living, the protests also targeted the domination of local economies by metropolitan elements.

French Polynesia, a vast oceanic expanse containing some 264,000 inhabitants, has also given France major headaches in recent years. Since 2004, this “overseas collectivity” has experienced nine changes in government, prompting Nicholas Sarkozy to describe the situation as “comical.” Pro-independence and pro-France local politicians struggle against each other, but then often join forces to direct subsidies to their own islands. Denunciations of Chinese merchants, followed by denunciations of such denunciations, are another stable feature of French Polynesian politics. As instability has increased, Paris has looked for possible reforms. In January 2010, Sarkozy proposed revamping the colony’s electoral system, but received little local support.

As is true in the French Caribbean, much of the popular discontent in French Polynesia stems from the high cost of living. Such tensions reached a climax on January 19, 2010, when opposition leaders on the island of Moorea – a favored tourist destination – publically seceded from France and French Polynesia, declaring that henceforth Moorea should be regarded as the independent republic of Hau Pakumoto. Although the announcement appears to have been largely a publicity stunt, French officials took it seriously, seizing funds and illegally issued identity cards. According to the Vancouver Sun, the minister of international affairs of the new “republic” claimed that more then 50,000 people support independence, a suspiciously high number considering the fact that Moorea’s population is only about 16,000.