Britain cedes disputed islands to Mauritius, securing key U.S. military base
Britain said it would cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a deal it said secured the future of the UK-U.S. Diego Garcia military base.
Britain said Thursday that it would cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a deal it said secured the future of the UK-U.S. Diego Garcia military base, and which could also pave the way for people displaced decades ago to return home.
President Joe Biden welcomed the deal, saying it would secure the effective operation of Diego Garcia, a strategically important air base in the Indian Ocean, into the next century.
But critics in Britain said it was a capitulation that played into the hands of China, which has close trade ties with Mauritius. One group representing displaced Chagos Islanders expressed anger that they had been shut out of talks.
British Foreign Minister David Lammy said the deal settled the contested sovereignty of the islands, the last British overseas territory in Africa, while ongoing legal challenges had imperiled the long-term future of Diego Garcia.
He said the base, whose strategic significance was demonstrated during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts when it acted as a launch pad for long-range bombers, was now guaranteed for at least 99 years.
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