London, Oct 4 (Alliance News): Britain announced on Thursday its decision to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, allowing displaced residents to return home, while retaining operational control over the key UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.
Under the new agreement, Britain will transfer control of the Chagos Islands, which it detached from Mauritius in 1965, to Mauritius.
However, the deal ensures the continued operation of the Diego Garcia military base, a strategically significant facility jointly operated with the United States.
The resettlement of the rest of the islands’ population, displaced in the 1970s, will also be permitted.
“This government inherited a situation where the long-term, secure operation of the Diego Garcia military base was under threat,” said British Foreign Minister David Lammy.
The agreement, he added, secures the base’s future while enhancing global security and preventing illegal migration routes in the Indian Ocean.
Britain has controlled the Chagos Islands since 1814, and evicted nearly 2,000 residents in the 1970s to make way for the US airbase.
In 2019, the World Court ruled that Britain wrongfully displaced the population and should return the islands to Mauritius.
The deal, supported by the United States and India, is a major step towards resolving the contested sovereignty of the islands and the legal challenges faced by Britain.