(Reuters) – The United Kingdom reported this Thursday that it will cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in an agreement that will allow people displaced decades ago to return home, while London retains use of the British-American military base in Diego Garcia.
Britain said the operation of Diego Garcia, a strategic military base operated jointly with the United States, is protected by the agreement, which also allows Mauritius to resettle the rest of the islands after its population was displaced.
“This Government inherited a situation in which the long-term secure operation of the Diego Garcia military base was threatened, with disputed sovereignty and ongoing legal challenges,” UK Foreign Minister David Lammy said in a statement. release.
“Today’s agreement secures this vital military base for the future. “It will strengthen our role in safeguarding global security, close any possibility of the Indian Ocean being used as a dangerous illegal immigration route to the UK, as well as secure our long-term relationship with Mauritius.”
The United Kingdom, which has controlled the region since 1814, separated the Chagos Islands from Mauritius in 1965 — a former colony that became independent three years later — to create the British Indian Ocean Territory.
In the early 1970s, it evacuated nearly 2,000 residents to Mauritius and the Seychelles to make way for an air base on the largest island, Diego Garcia, which it leased to the United States in 1966.
The world court said in 2019 that Britain should give up control of the islands, saying it unfairly forced people out in the 1970s to make way for a U.S. air base.
In a joint statement, Britain and Mauritius said the political agreement had the support and assistance of the United States and India.
