U.K. to restore sovereignty of Chagos islands to Mauritius

The United Kingdom and Mauritius have reached a historic political agreement to secure the strategically important U.K.-U.S. military base on Diego Garcia and towards restoring Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago. “It sees Mauritius assume sovereignty over British Indian Ocean Territory, with the U.K. authorised to exercise the sovereign rights of Mauritius on Diego Garcia.” The political agreement is subject to a treaty and supporting legal instruments being finalised and both sides have committed to complete this as quickly as possible, it said. Welcoming the agreement on the return of Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago, including Diego Garcia, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said this “significant” understanding completes the “decolonisation” of Mauritius. Welcoming the deal between U.K. and Mauritius, U.K. High Commissioner in Indian Lindy Cameron said on the social media platform X, “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.” Diego Garcia hosts an important and strategic military base for the U.S. and U.K. and has been a dispute between Mauritius and U.K. for a long time and this agreement secures its continued long term operational and also close a “potential” illegal migration route. “Without today’s agreement, the long-term, secure operation of the military base would be under threat, with contested sovereignty and legal challenges - including through various international courts and tribunals.” Speaking about the agreement, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said their 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.