The United Kingdom has given up its sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, an archipelago of around 60 islands in the Indian Ocean. The deal is aimed at securing the future of a key US military base on the atoll of Diego Garcia while allowing islanders displaced for the past five decades a right of return.
The deal, announced jointly by the UK and Mauritius, grants the latter full sovereignty over the remote archipelago and guarantees the operation of the United States base for the next 99 years. Welcoming the agreement, India said it “completes the decolonisation of Mauritius”.
New Delhi's role also got a mention in the joint statement of the UK and Mauritius.
"In reaching today's political agreement, we have enjoyed the full support and assistance of our close partners, the United States of America and the Republic of India," the joint statement read.
What was India’s role in the agreement?
India reportedly encouraged both the UK and Mauritius to negotiate “with an open mind and a view to achieving mutually beneficial outcomes". “It firmly backed the principled Mauritian position, supporting its stance on the need to do away with the last vestiges of colonisation. At the same time, it consistently encouraged both sides to negotiate with an open mind and with a view to achieving mutually beneficial outcomes. It is believed that the final outcome is a win for all sides involved and will reinforce long term security in the Indian Ocean region,” the Ministry of External Affairs insiders told Indian Express.
India has been focusing on its maritime strategy in the Indian Ocean to combat China's growing influence in the region. Mauritius holds the key to the south-west Indian Ocean and is also the entry point to the Atlantic Ocean. “Welcome deal today between the UK and Mauritius. This agreement enables deeper cooperation with India in the Indian Ocean, strengthening global security and averting threats to peace and prosperity in the wider Indo-Pacific,” UK high commissioner Lindy Cameron wrote on X.
Chagos islands
The Chagos archipelago lies roughly 500 km to the south of the Maldives archipelago in the Indian Ocean. These islands were uninhabited until the late 18th century. The French then brought in slave labour from Africa and India to work in the coconut plantations. In 1814, France ceded the islands to the British.
In 1965, the UK constituted the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), of which the Chagos Islands were a central part. Chagos was attached to Mauritius, another British colony in the Indian Ocean, for administrative purposes. Mauritius has been claiming that the UK illegally occupied Chagos, and raised the matter many times in international platoforms.
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