The envisaged agreement would allow the return of former residents of the Chagos archipelago who were forcibly displaced by the British government in the 1950s. The UK intends to retain control of its strategic Pacific Ocean military base at Diego Garcia, which it leases to the US . In a written ministerial statement, Foreign Secretary James Cleverley said the aim was to reach an agreement with Mauritius early next year. Following talks between the then prime minister, Liz Truss, and Mauritian officials in New York in October. The UK has twice been defeated in international courts on the issue and, with ministers intent on turning to the Indo-Pacific, British resistance to a handover was seen as hampering the UK’s ability to build alliances in the region. The US appears to have received satisfactory assurances about its base. When Mauritius gained independence from the UK in 1968, London cut off the Chagos Islands from the rest of the country so it could lease Diego Garcia Island to the US for a military base. The UK then forcibly deported 2,000 Chagossians, who fought a long legal battle to return. In 2019 the international court of justice, the UN’s highest court, ruled that the continued British occupation of the islands was illegal and that the Chagos Islands were rightfully part of Mauritius. The UK ignored the ruling on the grounds that it was advisory, but this position became increasingly untenable in the context of British efforts to uphold the importance of international law. Last year the Hamburg International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled that Britain’s claim to the archipelago was illegal, but the UK also refused to accept that ruling. Most recently, the court took up the dispute between Mauritius and the Maldives over a 37,000 square mile (95,000 square km) stretch of the Indian Ocean. Both sides claim the fish-rich waters as their own economic zones. Ibrahim Riffath, the Maldives’ attorney general, told the panel of nine UN judges that the case brought by Mauritius exists “primarily to further its dispute with the UK”. The Maldives caused surprise late last month by declaring its support for Mauritius in its efforts to colonize the Chagos Islands from the United Kingdom. Until this statement, the Maldives had always supported the continued control of the islands by the United Kingdom. In one of the most shameful episodes of British post-war colonialism, the then Labor government expelled the Chagossians because under international law it could only separate the archipelago from Mauritius if it had no permanent population. The archipelago was reconstituted as a colonial entity as the British Indian Ocean Territory, within which Diego Garcia and the American base could rest. All Chagossians were removed from the islands by the end of 1971. There are currently over 2,000 US service personnel and casual workers, mostly Filipinos, on the base. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The Chagossians, many very poor and as young as four, then formed communities in the Seychelles, the United Kingdom and Mauritius. In 2002 they were granted the right to apply for British citizenship. Many have campaigned for the right of return. In his ministerial statement, Cleverly said: “We will seek to significantly enhance our cooperation on Indian Ocean security, maritime safety and security, environmental conservation, climate change, respect for human rights and tackling illegal immigration, illegal fishing, drug and arms trafficking, as well as bilateral cooperation on a number of other issues. “The UK and Mauritius reiterated that any agreement between our two countries will ensure the continued effective operation of the joint UK/US military base at Diego Garcia, which plays a vital role in regional and global security. We recognize the interests of the US and India and will keep them informed of progress.”
