THE UK on Thursday announced a “historic” agreement that will see Britain hand over sovereignty of the remoteChagosIslandsintheIndianOceantoMauritius while itretains the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia. The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) status of thedisputedarchipelago,madeupofaround60islands, has been in contention for many years and negotiations over its future began under the previous ConservativePartyGovernmentin2022.Undertheagreement announced this week, the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia – which theWest says plays a crucial role in the region’sstabilityandinternationalsecurity–willremain under UK and US jurisdiction for at least the next 99 years.

 

“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,” said UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy. “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 guaranteeingourlong-termrelationshipwithMauritius, a close Commonwealth partner,” he said.