evidence: France’s bid to extend New Caledonia’s continental shelf has been used to justify its claim to Umaenupne (Matthew) and Umaeneag (Hunter) islands. These uninhabited volcanic islands, located to the east of New Caledonia and the south‐east of Vanuatu, are claimed by Vanuatu. There were colonial disputes over the islands, even before the joint French–British condominium of New Hebrides gained independence in 1980. Since then, repeated French assertions of sovereignty have angered governments in Port Vila. [...] With the 2009 Keamu Agreement, the FLNKS acknowledged that the islands belong to ni‐Vanuatu customary leaders from Tanna. At the time, Victor Tutugoro of the FLNKS joined customary leaders from Tanna to state that "the indigenous Kanak people do not have a traditional history on these islands", in contrast to customary authorities from Vanuatu’s Tafea province. At the signing of the Keamu Agreement, Tutugoro described it as "a solemn commitment between the Kanak people and the people of Vanuatu that whatever the political and institutional future of New Caledonia, Matthew and Hunter Islands will remain the property of the people of Vanuatu."