Britain has agreed to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, ending decades of dispute over the Indian Ocean territory. The deal, announced Thursday, will ensure the continued operation of the U.S. military base on Diego Garcia, a strategic location for U.S. and U.K. defense.
The agreement, hailed as a “seminal moment” by the U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, comes after years of negotiations. While Mauritius will gain control of the archipelago, Diego Garcia will remain under U.K. and U.S. jurisdiction for at least the next 99 years to guarantee the base’s operations. U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the deal, emphasizing Diego Garcia’s critical role in global security.
Mauritius has long claimed that it was forced to cede the Chagos Islands in 1965 as part of a deal to gain independence from Britain in 1968. The British government expelled around 2,000 Chagossians from the islands in the early 1970s to make way for the airbase. Many of those displaced have fought for decades for the right to return, repeatedly taking legal action against the U.K. government.
The deal includes provisions for resettlement on all the islands except Diego Garcia, with the U.K. pledging financial support for infrastructure projects to promote economic development. However, some Chagossian groups have expressed frustration over their exclusion from the negotiations. Olivier Bancoult, leader of the Mauritius-based Chagos Refugees Group, welcomed the agreement, calling it a recognition of the injustices faced by the islanders. Conversely, the British-based diaspora group Chagossian Voices condemned the lack of Chagossian involvement in the talks, stating they remained “powerless and voiceless” in shaping their future.
Conservative leaders, including former defense secretary Grant Shapps, criticized the agreement as a “dangerous capitulation,” raising concerns that China, which has close ties with Mauritius, could gain influence in the region. Shadow Security Minister Tom Tugendhat echoed these concerns, accusing the government of weakening the country’s position.
Internationally, the agreement resolves a long-standing dispute highlighted by a 2019 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which found that Britain’s separation of the islands from Mauritius was illegal. The United Nations also passed a resolution calling on the U.K. to end its administration of the islands.
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