Chagos Islands: Why are they important in Indian Ocean and what do India, UK want? EXPLAINED

In a major development, the UK government agreed to hand over the sovereignty of the long-contested Chagos Islands, an archipelago of nearly 60 islands in the Indian Ocean, to Mauritius as part of a deal to secure the US-UK military base at Diego Garcia. This move was lauded by India, which shares close relations with Mauritius and has backed the island nation's claims over the archipelago.

India said the significant agreement between Mauritius and the UK has completed the 'decolonisation' of Mauritius. According to sources, India played a quiet yet important role in the background concerning the deal granting sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius by encouraging talks with an open mind while firming backing the Mauritian position.

"India remains committed to working with Mauritius and other like-minded partners in strengthening maritime safety and security and contributing to enhanced peace and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region," the ministry further said after the agreement was announced on Thursday. India's explicit public support regarding the Chagos Archipelago was conveyed by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in July.

What is the Chagos Islands?

The Chagos Archipelago consists of approximately 58 small, flat islands located in the central Indian Ocean. Historically, the archipelago was considered a dependency of Mauritius, originally a French colony that was later ceded to the UK under the Treaty of Paris in 1814. Mauritius remained under British rule until gaining independence in 1968. 

The French brought in slave labour from India and Africa to these previously uninhabited lands to work in plantations before ceding the land to the British in 1814. The UK established the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) in 1965, which incorporated the Chagos Archipelago. These islands were detached from Mauritius after independence in 1968, with the UK paying 3 million pounds for the "detachment".

Why is Chagos Archipelago important?

The Chagos Islands are a strategically significant area, with one of its islands, Diego Garcia, serving as a key military base jointly operated by the UK and US. It monitors the Malacca Strait and other essential global trade routes, especially energy supplies. The US and UK signed an agreement in 1966 making the archipelago available for their defence needs. The land for the base was acquired in 1967 and the plantation on Diego Garcia was shut down in 1971.

The BIOT administration then passed an Immigration Ordinance, prohibiting residents from remaining on the island without a permit. Around 2,000 civilians - known as 'Chagossians' - were forcibly expelled, which became the centre of the dispute between Britain and Mauritius. These Chagossians were resettled in Mauritius and the UK.

The years-long dispute over Chagos

Since the 1980s, Mauritius has contested UK sovereignty over the islands, arguing that the agreement was signed under duress. Additionally, various groups of Chagossians, now dispersed among Seychelles, Mauritius, and the UK, have been advocating for their right to return to their homeland. The matter was raised several times in multilateral forums.

However, the UK appeared reluctant to let go of its control over the archipelago as the Diego Garcia base, operational since 1986, was vital for the US and Britain to maintain strategic presence in the Indian Ocean for trade and maritime security purposes. The UN General Assembly in 2017 requested the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue an advisory opinion on the legal status of the Islands.

In 2019, the ICJ ruled that the UK’s administration of the islands was illegal and the detachment of the islands from Mauritius in 1965 was not done with the free consent of the Chagossians. The General Assembly in 2019 passed a resolution demanding the UK to "unconditionally withdraw its colonial administration" from the islands.

What do India and UK want with Chagos deal?

The historic agreement announced on Thursday effectively ended the UK's control over the archipelago and allowed Mauritius to implement a resettlement programme on the islands, while Britain will maintain sovereignty over the Diego Garcia military base, which will remain operational for a period of 99 years.

"Today’s agreement secures this vital military base for the future. It will strengthen our role in safeguarding global security, shut down any possibility of the Indian Ocean being used as a dangerous illegal migration route to the UK, as well as guaranteeing our long-term relationship with Mauritius, a close Commonwealth partner," said UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy in a statement.

The British government said if the issue was left unresolved, the security operation of the military base would remain under threat with contested sovereignty and legal challenges. It would have also pushed Mauritius to seek support from other partners like China. As a former British colony, India has maintained strong support for Mauritius over the matter as it seeks to deepen its ties with the island nation amid China's growing assertiveness in the Indian Ocean.

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