evidence: France (for New Caledonia) and Vanuatu both claim sovereignty over the Matthew and Hunter Islands, two very small volcanic outcrops at the southern tip of the Vanuatu archipelago. Prior to its independence, the Condominium of New Hebrides was a joint colonial protectorate, with a legal personality distinct from both Great Britain and France individually, although France and the UK each retained jurisdiction over their own nationals.Footnote 95 [...] Since the adoption of UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the creation of the EEZ, small islands such as Hunter and Matthew, which adorn the Pacific Ocean, have of course taken on heightened importance. Not surprisingly, France, well aware of Vanuatu’s claim since at least 1980, has delimited its baselines on the assumption that Hunter and Matthew are French. Whilst these two outcrops are clearly above water at high tide and are therefore islands within the meaning of Article 121 of UNCLOS,Footnote 113 France has claimed an EEZ on the assumption that Hunter and Matthew are capable of sustaining human or economic life of their own. The combined claimed EEZ is 190,000 km2 Footnote 114 (indicatively shown on Figure 1), underscoring the great interest to states in laying claim to these micro territories. Interestingly, were Vanuatu sovereign over the two islands, they would form part of the Vanuatu archipelago and so could benefit from archipelagic baselines, thus obviating the need to demonstrate that the islands are capable of sustaining life within the meaning of Article 121 UNCLOS.Footnote 115