Vanuatu pushes France to accept ICJ jurisdiction in Pacific islands dispute

Vanuatu says French control of islands is a relic of colonial past, as France’s far right uses case as a political weapon.

The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has filed an application with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking sovereignty over two small Pacific islands controlled by France.

The Hague-based court said in a statement on Tuesday that Vanuatu’s application concerns sovereignty over Umaenupne, also known as Matthew Island, and Umaeneg/Leka, or Hunter Island.

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The case seeks closure on a decades-old territorial dispute rooted in the region’s colonial history. Far-right parties in France are seeking to use the case as a political weapon.

The ICJ, also known as the World Court, will not immediately take up the case because France has not accepted the court’s compulsory jurisdiction over disputes with other states.

Vanuatu’s application has been sent to Paris to determine whether France agrees to let the court hear the case.

“No action will be taken in the proceedings unless and until France consents to the Court’s jurisdiction in the case,” the ICJ said.

The dispute has become part of a wider debate over France’s colonial legacy in the Pacific.

Vanuatu, jointly ruled by France and Britain until independence in 1980, argues that its decolonisation will not be complete until the islands are returned under its control.

The issue has also been seized upon by France’s far right, which has accused President Emmanuel Macron’s government of being prepared to surrender French territory, a claim Paris has repeatedly rejected.

Vanuatu has challenged French sovereignty over the islands since gaining independence, arguing that the colonial-era arrangement placing them under French control was made without consulting the Indigenous population.

Matthew and Hunter are uninhabited volcanic islands in the South Pacific, about 300 kilometres (190 miles) east of the French territory of New Caledonia and southeast of Vanuatu.

While the islands themselves are small, sovereignty affects control over surrounding waters, including fishing rights and access to seabed resources.

In 2025, France and Vanuatu agreed to new rounds of bilateral negotiations over the islands and their maritime boundaries after earlier talks in 2018 and 2019.

Earlier this year, Vanuatu said negotiations had reached an impasse and that it would take the dispute to an international court.

The ICJ, the United Nations’ highest court, deals with disputes between states and frequently rules on disagreements over land and maritime boundaries.