Britain agrees to Chagos Island sovereignty deal with Mauritius, retains military base

Britain said on Thursday it would give up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a deal that would allow people displaced decades ago to return home while London retains use of the UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.

Britain said that the operation of Diego Garcia, a strategic military base jointly operated with the United States, was protected by the agreement, which also allows Mauritius to resettle the rest of the islands after its population was displaced.

US President Joe Biden welcomed the deal, saying it would secure the effective operation of the airbase into the next century.

“Diego Garcia is the site of a joint US-UK military facility that plays a vital role in national, regional, and global security,” he said in a statement.

“This 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,” British Foreign Minister David Lammy said in a statement.

“Today’s agreement secures this vital military base for the future. It will strengthen our role in safeguarding global security, shut down any possibility of the Indian Ocean being used as a dangerous illegal migration route to the UK, as well as guaranteeing our long-term relationship with Mauritius.”