INDIAN OCEAN: No, Man, It's My Island

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Although Tromelin is not even listed in France's principal gazetteers, the French reject the rival claims and insist on retaining possession of the island. Explains a Foreign Ministry spokesman: "It is French territory. There is no reason to give it up." But there is a reason to keep it. France, like most coastal nations, has begun to claim 200-mile economic zones in territorial waters off both the mainland and its remaining overseas possessions. If these are recognized internationally, tiny Tromelin would provide France with a lucrative stake in whatever wealth lies beneath that area of the Indian Ocean.