Britain Hands Chagos Islands to Mauritius, Secures U.S. Base in Historic Pact

LONDON : Britain has agreed to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, ending a long-standing colonial dispute, the British Foreign Office announced on October 31, 2024. The deal follows a 2019 U.N. resolution urging Britain to return the Indian Ocean archipelago, separated from Mauritius in 1814 and retained after its 1968 independence. The transfer addresses the forced removal of about 1,500 Chagossians in the 1960s and 1970s to establish a U.S. British military base on Diego Garcia.

The agreement ensures the Diego Garcia base, vital for U.S. operations in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, remains under British control for 99 years. U.S. President Joe Biden praised the deal as a sign of allied unity, though President-elect Donald Trump’s team expressed security concerns. Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth called it a “triumph of justice,” with Britain providing an undisclosed financial package to Mauritius.

The Chagos Islands, 1,600 miles east of Africa, have been a strategic asset since the Gulf War. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the pact corrects past wrongs while bolstering global security. For displaced Chagossians, it offers recognition, though their return remains restricted by the military lease, marking a complex balance of history and strategy.