The countries are neighbours in the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean; Tuvalu lies directly north of Fiji, and they share a maritime border.

Fiji remained unresponsive to Tuvalu's attempts to resolve the matter, although the incident was said not to have severely affected bilateral relations.

[8] In December 2014, a technical agreement was signed between Fiji, Tuvalu and France at the Commonwealth Secretariat’s headquarters in London over maritime boundaries.

This agreement uses satellite data to pinpoint where the waters of Fiji, Tuvalu and the French territories of Wallis and Futuna meet.

The agreement will help the countries to defend their waters from illegal fishing operations and provide clarity over rights to marine natural resources.