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UK Government Agrees to Hand Chagos Islands to Mauritius

The American airbase and anchorage at Diego Garcia are the archipelago's defining features (NASA file image)
The American airbase and anchorage at Diego Garcia are the archipelago's defining features (NASA file image)

Published Oct 3, 2024 7:58 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

The government of the UK has reached an agreement with Mauritius to transfer ownership of the Chagos Islands, which have been under UK administration since Mauritius' independence in the 1960s.  

Critically, the agreement provides for a 99-year renewable lease for continued military operations at Diego Garcia, an atoll in the Chagos archipelago where the U.S. maintains a strategic airfield and naval base. The base has played an important role in American military preparedness as a staging point for the maritime prepositioning fleet, a stopover point for nuclear submarines, and a launchpad for strategic bombers. In the latter role, the base at Diego Garcia made an important contribution to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with B-1B bombers making runs to strike targets in the Middle East - without the interference of any host government. 

The handover has been anticipated since 2019, when the International Court of Justice ruled that the British occupation of the islands was illegal and that Chagos is rightfully part of Mauritius. The UK has been quietly negotiating with Mauritius since Prime Minister Liz Truss' brief term in government, and it has gradually walked back claims of ownership under pressure from Mauritian activists and leaders. In late 2022, then-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs James Cleverly announced that "it is our intention to secure an agreement on the basis of international law to resolve all outstanding issues," formalizing the process of negotiations and setting a timeline for a final resolution.

Under the agreement announced Thursday, the former inhabitants of Chagos will be allowed to return to all islands except for Diego Garcia. The British government displaced 2,000 Chagossians in 1960s and 1970s to pave way for the military base. Some Chagossian activists protested the deal and said that they should have been included in the discussions. 

"This is a seminal moment in our relationship and a demonstration of our enduring commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes and the rule of law," said UK Keir Starmer in a statement Thursday. 

The Starmer government insists that it remains committed to British administration of the Falkland Islands, which are claimed by Argentina.