UK and Mauritius Reach Deal Over Chagos Islands

The United Kingdom is getting ready to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, its last African colony, to Mauritius, now that US President Donald Trump has signed off on the UK’s handover of the disputed territory that is home to a major US military base, the Guardian reported.

According to the proposed deal, Mauritius would gain sovereignty of the Chago Islands while allowing the US and the UK to continue operations at the military base on one of the islands for an initial period of 99 years, with British taxpayers bearing the cost, according to the BBC.

In exchange, the UK would lease back Diego Garcia, the largest atoll in the Indian Ocean archipelago and home to the military base, for about $116.4 million per year for 99 years, with the possibility to extend the deal for an extra 40 years, wrote the Financial Times.

The plan to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, officially known as the British Indian Ocean Territory, was initially announced last October but was stalled following elections in Mauritius and in the US, as both countries saw in new administrations.

Initially, the US expressed concerns over the handover related to national security, considering Mauritius’ ties with China. However, UK officials said India is a more influential regional power and that Mauritius is one of the few countries in the region that refused to take part in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Last month, Trump opted to back the deal.

While the Conservatives, the UK’s main opposition party, are critical of the deal, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said it is “extremely important” to the country’s security.

The Indigenous Chagossians, forcibly removed from the archipelago by the UK in the 1960s and of which many now live in the UK, say they were not consulted on the agreement. Under the draft deal, funds would be allocated to help displaced islanders return to their islands – except Diego Garcia – but details remain unclear, according to the Associated Press.

Two women born on the Chagos Islands, both British citizens, are suing the UK government over the agreement, saying it will make it harder for them to return to their birthplace once Mauritius takes over the territory. Their lawyers have argued that it was unlawful to exclude Chagossians from deciding the future of their islands.

The Chagos Archipelago was split off from Mauritius in 1965, when the country was still a British colony. The UK then purchased it. Even so, Mauritius argued it was forced to give it away as part of a deal to get independence. In the late 1960s, the UK invited the US to build a military base on Diego Garcia, removing thousands of people from their homes on the island. In recent years, the UK has come under international pressure to return the island to Mauritius.