Britain hands Indian Ocean islands to Mauritius, but retains key US military base

LONDON: Britain said on Thursday (October 3) that it would hand over sovereignty of a remote Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius but would maintain a strategic military base there that it shares with the United States, in what US President Joe Biden described as “historic” agreement”.

The British government has been under pressure for decades to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a former colony, but has resisted because of the military base on the island of Diego Garcia, which plays a key role in US operations in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf.

“For the first time in more than 50 years, the status of the base will be uncontested and legally secure,” the British Foreign Office said. A joint British-Mauritian statement said the base would remain open on a “first-of-its-kind” 99-year lease.

Biden welcomed the continued existence of the base on Diego Garcia – the largest island in the chain – which was primarily used during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The base is used by US long-range bombers and ships.

“I welcome the historic agreement and conclusion of negotiations,” Biden said, adding that the site “plays a critical role in national, regional and global security.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had spoken to his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth, who later said the deal showed how a small country could “achieve justice against major powers.”

“Today, 56 years after our independence, our decolonization is complete. Now our national anthem can ring even louder throughout our territory,” he added.