Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean

The Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean (French: Îles Éparses or Îles Éparses de l'océan Indien) consist of four small coral islands, an atoll, as well as a reef in the Indian Ocean; they constitute the fifth district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, though sovereignty over some or all of the islands is contested by the Comoros, Madagascar, and Mauritius. None of the islands have ever had a permanent population, though the French armed forces maintain small troop contingents on some of the islands.

Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean Îles Éparses de l'océan Indien (French)
Flag of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands Coat of arms
Motto: "Liberté, égalité, fraternité"
Anthem: "La Marseillaise" "The Marsellaise"
Maps of the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean. Anti-clockwise from top right: Tromelin Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, Bassas da India, and Europa Island. Banc du Geyser is not shown.
Status	District of French Southern and Antarctic Lands
Disputed with Madagascar, the Comoros, and Mauritius

Two of the islands—Europa Island and Juan de Nova Island—and the Bassas da India atoll lie in the Mozambique Channel west of Madagascar, while a third island, Tromelin Island, lies about 450 kilometres (280 mi) east of Madagascar and the Glorioso Islands lies about 200 kilometres (120 mi) northwest of Madagascar. Also in the Mozambique Channel is Banc du Geyser, a mostly submerged reef considered a part of the Glorioso Islands by France and the Comoros.

The islands have been classified as nature reserves. Except for Bassas da India, they all support meteorological stations: those on the Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova, and Europa Island are automated. The station on Tromelin Island, in particular, provides warning of cyclones threatening Madagascar, Mauritius, or Réunion. Each of the islands, except Banc du Geyser and Bassas da India, has an airstrip of more than 1,000 metres (3,300 ft).

Overview

Island / Atoll	Station Staff	Area (km2)	Lagoon (km2)	EEZ (km2)	Coordinates	Location
Glorioso Islands (including Banc du Geyser)	11	5	29.6	48,350	11°33′S 47°20′E	Northern Mozambique Channel
Tromelin Island	19	0.8	–	280,000	15°53′S 54°31′E	Western Indian Ocean
Juan de Nova Island	14	4.4	(1)	61,050	17°03′S 42°45′E	Central Mozambique Channel
Bassas da India	–	0.2	79.8	123,700	21°27′S 39°45′E	Southern Mozambique Channel
Europa Island	12	28	9	127,300	22°20′S 40°22′E	Southern Mozambique Channel
Total	56	38.4	118.4	640,400

Individual islands

• Bassas da India
  • Ten unnamed rock islets
• Europa Island
  • Île Europa
  • Eight unnamed rock islets
• Glorioso Islands
  • Banc du Geyser
  • Grande Glorieuse
  • Île du Lys
  • South Rock
  • Verte Rocks (three islets)
  • Wreck Rock
  • Three unnamed islets
• Juan de Nova Island
• Tromelin Island

Administration

Since January 3, 2005, the Scattered Islands have been administered on behalf of the French state by the senior administrator of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, based in Réunion. The Scattered Islands had previously been under the administration of the prefect of Réunion since the Independence of Madagascar in 1960. France maintains a military garrison of around 14 troops on each of the islands in the Mozambique Channel that are claimed by Madagascar. The troops are supported by French naval vessels based in Réunion conducting patrol missions and re-supply operations about four times per year. The Glorioso Islands are also claimed by the Comoros, while Mauritius claims Tromelin Island.

France has an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 200 nautical miles (370 km) around each of the small islands in the Scattered Islands, which together with the EEZ claims for the islands of Mayotte and Réunion totals more than one million square kilometres (400,000 sq mi) in the western Indian Ocean. There is considerable overlap of the EEZ with the neighbouring states.

Sovereignty dispute

Mauritius, Madagascar, and the Comoros dispute France's sovereignty over these islands. Mauritius claims Tromelin Island and states that the island, discovered by France in 1722, was not ceded by the Treaty of Paris in 1814. Madagascar claims sovereignty over the Glorioso Islands (including Banc du Geyser), though the island group was never a part of the Malagasy Protectorate, having been a part of the Colony of Mayotte and dependencies, then a part of the French Comoros that had become a separately administered colony from Madagascar in 1946. The Comoros also claims the Glorioso Islands (including Banc du Geyser), as a part of the disputed French region of Mayotte. Furthermore, Madagascar has also claimed Bassas da India, Europa Island, and Juan de Nova Island since 1972, and a 1979 United Nations resolution (without binding force) demanded the cession of these islands to Madagascar. Seychelles claimed a part of the Scattered Islands too before the signing of the France–Seychelles Maritime Boundary Agreement.

See also

• Administrative divisions of France
• French Southern and Antarctic Lands
• List of territorial disputes
• Overseas France

External links

• Media related to Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean at Wikimedia Commons