Two tiny and uninhabited islands in the middle of the Pacific that have, to date, appeared relatively uninteresting have revived deep tensions between France and Vanuatu.
In 1929, France took possession of Hunter and Matthew Islands and attached their management to their then-colony New Hebrides, now Vanuatu. After a quarrel with the United Kingdom 47 years later, in 1976, France decided to entrust the management of these two islets to another Pacific colony, New Caledonia.
