UK cedes Chagos Island sovereignty to Mauritius, retains Diego Garcia airbase
- Britain says deal secures future of UK/U.S. base
- U.S. President Biden applauds agreement
- Chagos Islanders wary of deal that allows resettlement
- New UK PM draws ire of Conservative opposition
LONDON/PORT LOUIS, Oct 3 (Reuters) – Britain said on Thursday 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.
U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the deal, saying it would secure the effective operation of Diego Garcia, a strategically important airbase in the Indian Ocean, into the next century.But critics in Britain said it was a capitulation which played into the hands of China, which has close trade ties with Mauritius. One group representing displaced Chagos Islanders expressed anger 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 imperilled the long-term future of the Diego Garcia.
He said the base, whose strategic significance was demonstrated during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts where it acted as a launch pad for long-range bombers, was now guaranteed for at least 99 years.
“Today’s agreement … will strengthen our role in safeguarding global security,” Lammy said in a statement.
Biden echoed that sentiment, saying Diego Garcia played “a vital role in national, regional, and global security”.
“It enables the United States to support operations that demonstrate our shared commitment to regional stability, provide rapid response to crises, and counter some of the most challenging security threats we face,” he said.
The new agreement said Mauritius would be free to implement a programme of resettlement on the islands other than Diego Garcia, with the terms left for Port Louis to decide.
“We were guided by our conviction to complete the decolonisation of our republic,” Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said in a televised speech.
Olivier Bancoult, leader of the Mauritius-based Chagos Refugees Group, said it marked a decisive turning point and an official recognition of the injustices suffered by the Chagossians.
But British-based diaspora group Chagossian Voices said it deplored “the exclusion of the Chagossian community from the negotiations”.
“Chagossians… remain powerless and voiceless in determining our own future and the future of our homeland,” it said in a statement on Facebook.