Britain hands sovereignty over Chagos Islands to Mauritius after decades of dispute | political news

Britain is set to hand sovereignty over the remote Chagos Islands to Mauritius after decades of dispute.

The deal to transfer the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius includes Diego Garcia, a tropical atoll home to military bases used by Britain and the United States that play a critical role in regional stability and international security.

Under the agreement, the base will remain under British and American jurisdiction for the next 99 years.

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The British government said the treaty “will demonstrate the commitment of both sides to address past wrongs and support the welfare of the island's indigenous people, the Chagoss people.”

U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the move, saying it was “mutually beneficial,” and Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed it as a “victory for diplomacy.”

Several leading Conservative lawmakers called the decision “weak” and former Securities Minister Tom Tugendhat said it was “a shameful setback that undermines our security and exposes our allies.”

Concerns have been raised that in the future the Mauritian government will not comply with the agreement and allow China, which has significant investments in Mauritius, to take over the base.

Image: Map: OpenStreetMap

financial aid package

The Mauritian and British governments said in a statement that Mauritius was now “free to implement a resettlement program” on the islands other than Diego Garcia, and that Britain would provide money and other support to Chagossians who had been forced to leave.

The UK will also provide a “financial support package” to Mauritius, including annual payments for the next 99 years, and provide funding for an infrastructure partnership.

“Some people think it is impossible for a small country like Mauritius to achieve justice against a superpower,” Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said to the Mauritian public.

“Despite all this, we have remained true to our conviction to end the colonization of our country.

“Today, on the 56th anniversary of liberation, our decolonization is complete.”

Foreign Minister Manesh Gobin told Sky News the deal marked a “historic day” for the two “sovereign nations”.

Asked about China's influence, the foreign minister said it was “unfortunate” that China continues to feature in discussions about the Chagos Islands.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “This government has inherited a situation where contested sovereignty and ongoing legal challenges threaten the long-term and safe operation of the Diego Garcia military base.”

“Today’s agreement secures this important military base for the future.

“This will strengthen our role in protecting global security and block the potential for the Indian Ocean to be used as a dangerous route for illegal migration to the UK, as well as ensuring a long-term relationship with Mauritius, a close partner of the Commonwealth.”

History of the Chagos Islands

The Chagos Islands have been home to the Chagoss people, whom the French brought as slaves from Africa and India, since the 1700s.

The island was a vassal of Mauritius when it was a French colony, but Britain claimed the Chagos Islands as part of Mauritius in the early 19th century.

Mauritius has been trying to claim the Chagos Islands as Mauritian territory since gaining independence from Britain in 1968.

In the late 1960s, the United States asked Britain to expel everyone from the archipelago so that it could build a naval support facility on the largest island, Diego Garcia. Although leased to the United States, it is operated as a joint Anglo-American base.

Since 1971, only U.S. military personnel have been allowed access. Chagossians living on this and other islands migrated to Mauritius and the Seychelles. The expulsion is considered one of the most shameful parts of Britain's modern colonial history, and Chagossians have fought for decades to return home.

In 2010, Mauritius launched proceedings against the United Kingdom over the legality of the archipelago and compensation and repatriation of its former residents. Mauritius took this to the International Court of Justice in 2018.

The British government has offered British Overseas Territories citizenship to Chagossians since 2002, and approximately 3,500 people have obtained citizenship. Most live in Crawley, West Sussex, near Gatwick Airport.

Some 89 Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers have arrived in Diego Garcia since 2021, but the British government claims they are being held in temporary refugee camps because the refugee convention does not apply there.

Mauritius has repeatedly said the Chagos archipelago is part of its territory and that Britain's claim violates a UN resolution banning division of pre-independence colonial territory.

In 2019, the United Nations General Assembly said the Chagos Islands, although not legally binding, “form an integral part of the territory of Mauritius.”

In November 2022, then-British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced that the UK and Mauritius had begun sovereignty negotiations with Mauritius.

Talks broke down in December 2023, when David Cameron was foreign secretary, after three legal academics said in a paper that moving the island would be a “big, self-inflicted blow” to Britain.

The Labor government has resumed talks and has now agreed to hand the island back to Mauritius while the US and UK retain their military bases.

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Image: Fuel tanks at the edge of the military airfield in Diego Garcia. File photo: Reuters

‘Through diplomacy, a country can overcome difficulties.’

The US President welcomed this measure, saying, “I applaud this historic agreement.”

“This clearly shows that through diplomacy and partnerships, countries can overcome long-standing historical challenges and achieve peaceful and mutually beneficial outcomes.”

The agreement is subject to the finalization of the treaty and supporting legal instruments, which both Mauritius and the UK have committed to completing “as soon as possible”.

Former Foreign Secretary James Cleverley accused the government of being “weak, weak, weak”.

He said: “Labour lied to get into power. They said they would be whiter than white people, they said they wouldn’t tax people, they said they would stand up to the EU, they said they would be patriotic. It’s all lies!”

'Strategic disaster'

Interviewing Prime Minister Cleverley, who was foreign secretary when the negotiations began in 2022, Mr Tugendhat said the Foreign Office had “negotiated against the UK's interests” and added: “It is shameful that these negotiations began under our watch.”

British Reform Party leader Nigel Farage said, “Abandoning the Chagos Islands would be a strategic disaster,” and added, “The United States will be furious and China will be delighted.”

“Labour is making the world a more dangerous place,” he said.

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