Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1533084
7 ANALYSIS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 MARCH 2025 neutral Malta's search for oil future status as a neutral coun- try. In November 1979, during a visit to Tripoli, the Maltese At- torney General informed the Libyan authorities that Malta had decided to go ahead with drilling operations. The Libyan counterparts warned this would endanger relations between the two countries. Malta was willing to consider a 15-mile-wide cor- ridor above the median line as a disputed area and avoid drilling in this zone. It was agreed that a further meeting should take place soon enough to leave enough time for Libya to submit the matter to the Popular Congresses for ratifica- tion in January 1980. However, the Libyans ignored the January target date and dur- ing a visit to Tripoli in April 1980, Mintoff notified the Liby- an authorities of Malta's inten- tion to commence drilling. Libya's prime minister insisted Libya would protest and resist such an action. On 10 May 1980, Libya sent Malta a Note Verbale denounc- ing what it described as a viola- tion of its rights and declared its "non-recognition of acts which would affect its sovereignty". This was Libya's first diplomatic protest in respect of the conces- sions granted by Malta in 1974. In its reply on 21 May 1980, the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Malta rejected as "unfounded and inadmissible" Libya's claims to areas of the continental shelf over which Malta had granted concessions. The growing tension culminat- ed in the military ship incident that effectively shut down Mal- ta's oil exploration on the Medi- na Bank. Eventually, in 1985, the ICJ de- livered its judgment that shifted the demarcation line drawn by Malta upwards to take into ac- count the vastly larger Libyan coastline. Malta's continental shelf limit was thus reduced but the court only pronounced itself on a small section of the zone since there were competing claims from Italy and Tunisia to the southeast and southwest of Malta's continental shelf. Malta's search for oil has had no success. AT the time of the oil rig incident Malta was in the process of concretising its neutral status by seeking security guarantees from several coun- tries. In his letters to Muammar Gaddafi in the run- up to the 1980 incident, Dom Mintoff repeated- ly reiterated Malta's yearning to become a neu- tral state after the British military's departure in March 1979. Nonetheless, this was not enough to prevent Libya from using the threat of force to stop Mal- ta from drilling for oil on its continental shelf. This incident may hark back 45 years but it re- mains a pertinent reminder of how neutrality is not enough to ward off a belliger- ent state that decides to use force to resolve real or perceived disputes with Malta. The oil rig incident involved what was sup- posed to be a 'friendly' country that had com- mitted to help Malta transform its economy as it transitioned away from dependence on the foreign military base. When push came to shove, Libya ditched friendliness and pointed the gun towards Malta. This context is pertinent in current circum- stances where the EU is seeking to increase military investment to be able to defend itself better in the wake of the Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the US's apparent disengagement from Europe. Malta's neutrality does not prevent it from beefing up its own defence as part of this EU- wide effort. The risks of aggression can never be underestimated, especially in the context of hybrid warfare. Malta has critical subsea infrastructure – elec- tricity and data cables – connecting it to Sicily, which if sabotaged can bring the country to a halt. Cyber-attacks from state and non-state ac- tors can also disrupt critical public and private services. Malta's Constitution bars it from being part of a military alliance but this should not mean staying out of arrangements that can boost the country's defence capabilities. Ostensibly, it is these defence arrangements more than neu- trality that could deter belligerent actors from harming Malta's interests. Neutrality no deterrent for rogue actions Map showing submarine cables passing beneath the Mediterranean Sea. The coloured cables represent the electricity and data connections pertaining to Malta. Apart from the interconnector, owned by the Maltese government, by which electricity is imported from Italy, the seabed between Sicily and Malta also hosts critical data cables owned by Go plc, Melita and Epic. Another subsea cable is the fibre optic link between Malta and Gozo, which is the only data link to the sister island. The blue cable is the Peace International Network that runs from southeast Asia to France. Go plc owns the Malta branch. Source: submarinecablemap.com