MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

British Indian Ocean Territory of Chagos to be handed over to Mauritius

Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth issued a joint statement with Keir Starmer outlining the details of the new understanding ahead of a final treaty

The Government of Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed Thursday to hand over sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Islands to Mauritius after two years of talks to bring to an end a dispute lasting some six decades. As per the new understanding, the UK and the United States get to keep using the military base in Diego García Island, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy explained.

“This will strengthen our role in safeguarding global security, rule out any possibility of the Indian Ocean being used as a dangerous illegal migration route to the UK, as well as securing our long-term relationship with Mauritius, a close Commonwealth partner,” Lammy stressed. The British government feared that without this understanding the military base's future could be jeopardized by legal sovereignty challenges before various international courts, it was also reported. Chagos is an archipelago of 50 plus islands and nearly 1,000 islets, Diego Garcia being the largest of them all. The military facility there was deeply involved during conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, among others.

Pursuant to the deal, the UK will retain sovereignty over Diego Garcia for an initial period of 99 years and will pay Mauritius an undisclosed rent. London will also set up a “resettlement” fund for displaced Chagossians. The UK deported some 2,000 Chagos residents to Mauritius and the Seychelles to make way for the base, while Mauritius accused the UK of “illegal occupation.” In 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advised the UK to relinquish control of the islands and the initiative was endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2022.

The Chagos Islands became a British Indian Ocean Territory in 1965, when they were legally severed from Mauritius, three years ahead of its independence. Mauritius, located about 2,100 kilometers (1,250 miles) southwest of the Chagos Islands, has claimed sovereignty since ceasing to be a British colony in 1968.

Starmer and Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth said in a joint statement that Thursday's deal was the prelude to a treaty to be signed “as soon as possible.”

According to the statement, the UK's presence in Diego Garcia is “necessary to ensure the continued operation of the base well into the next century.” In addition, the treaty will ensure “the secure, effective and long-term operation of the existing base on Diego Garcia, which plays a vital role in regional and global security.”

“For the first time in over 50 years, the status of the base will be undisputed and legally secure, following a political agreement between the UK and Mauritius. The agreement underpins the UK's strong duty to keep the country secure, with no change to the operation of the military base, in an increasingly volatile world,” the British Foreign Office also said.

“I applaud the historic agreement and the conclusion of negotiations,” said US President Joseph Biden while endorsing the fact that that the joint military site “plays a vital role in national, regional and global security.”