In exchange for maintaining access to the British-US military base on Diego Garcia, the United Kingdom has announced that it is ceding sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. This move would enable individuals who were uprooted decades ago to return home.
The United Kingdom announced on Thursday that the deal safeguarded the functioning of Diego Garcia, a strategically important military facility that it shares with the United States. It also permits Mauritius to resettle the remaining islands once its inhabitants have been forced to relocate.
British Foreign Minister David Lammy said in a statement that “this government inherited a situation where the long-term, secure operation of the Diego Garcia military base was under threat, with contested sovereignty and ongoing legal challenges.” “With today’s deal, this strategic military base is safeguarded going forward.
It will ensure our long-term connection with Mauritius and reinforce our role in defending international security by eliminating any chance that the Indian Ocean could be exploited as a hazardous route for illegal migrants to reach the UK.
The UK, which has controlled the region since 1814, detached the Chagos Islands in 1965 from Mauritius – a former colony that became independent three years later – to create the British Indian Ocean Territory.
In the early 1970s, it evicted almost 2,000 residents to Mauritius and the Seychelles to make way for an airbase on the largest island, Diego Garcia, which it had leased to the US in 1966