Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean
The Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean consist of four small coral islands and 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 around Madagascar, mainly in the Mozambique Channel, the scattered islands, "confetti of the French colonial empire," are of strategic importance due to the extent of their economic area of interest. France asserts its presence there by basing small detachments of military personnel.
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 east of Madagascar and the Glorioso Islands lies about 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.
The Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean are partially claimed by the Comoros, Madagascar, and Mauritius. The Malagasy and Mauritian claims, however, are significantly later than their access to independence. However, the agreement reached in October 2024 on the restitution to Mauritius of the Chagos Islands by Great Britain, in the heart of the Indian Ocean, notably home to the American base of Diego Garcia, has relaunched the debate in Madagascar.
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
- *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 of 200 nautical miles 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 in the western Indian Ocean. There is considerable overlap of the EEZ with the neighbouring states.