Scattered islands: Madagascar looking westwards?

The Tromelin island is a dead duck for Madagascar. The chief of the HAT diplomacy has once again appeared resigned to give up. “There is a French Mauritian agreement about the joint management of Tromelin” he noticed. As responding to the possibility to challenge this bilateral convention which rules out Madagascar, the nearest territory, Hyppolite Ramaroson lowered the flag. The Vice-admiral is rather targeting Juan do Nova, the other island located 150 km from Madagascar’s western coast. “It is not a sleeping file. Our technicians have to be granted time to prepare it” he argued. The single possible resort to challenge the French sovereignty over these scattered islands is the UNO. “We are going to have to address the United Nations about these islands’ ownership”, insisted the chief of the HAT. The operation is standing no chance to succeed, at least for the year 2010 since the authoritarian regime is not recognized. France and Mauritius ceased the opportunity to put their grip on Tromelin island whereas Madagascar is remaining engulfed in a serious institutional crisis. Anyway, the island was already belonging to the French and dedicated to host a weather forecasting station studying cyclones in the Indian Ocean. 50 years after its independence, Madagascar ought to have legally been able to claim the sovereignty of these islands. The first president, “one of mother France’s son”, had given up this right. General de Gaulle ordered in the French foreign office of that time to keep Madagascar out of all activities to be tackled on the Scattered islands. Any of the Great Isle’s attempt to challenge the established order has been severely opposed. By that time, president De Gaulle expected these islands to serve as atomic test sites for France. Today, the French nuclear tests have finally been completed in the pacific ocean. The Scattered islands are still remaining strategic though, particularly for the Indian Ocean’s French navy. Since 2007, the Indian ocean’s small islands are making one fifth district of the French southern and Antarctic territories. Although Tromelin is only 1km² wide, it has the largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) made of some 280 000 km². French and Mauritian boats which are going to conduct fishing activities there will be needing an authorization from French authorities. Since the Ratsiraka regime, Madagascar has been displaying its interest for Juan do Nova, the closest one from its coasts. Such a will is not motivated by the 5km² wide island’s impressive fauna potential concentrated on a 12m high piece of rock with very few rains and an as so poorer vegetation. The real stake is crude oil. Madagascar equally claimed sovereignty of the other islands located in the channel of Mozambique. Bassa-da-India island is gradually covered by the sea but still has a 123 700 km² wide EEZ, nearly as much as the whole of Europa, the largest of the Scattered Islands with 30km². The Glorious islands and their 48 350 km² wide EEZ are not on top of the chart.  
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