The western Indian Ocean’s Chagos Archipelago, with the exception of Diego Garcia, is no longer part of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and is legally and constitutionally part of Mauritius as of late September.
The agreement to hand the seven atoll, 60 plus island archipelago back to Mauritius follows 13 rounds of talks going back to 2022 between the United Kingdom (UK) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) member Mauritius. Ahead of Mauritian independence in 1968, the UK was found to have unlawfully separated Chagos to form BIOT, a new colony.
The return was formally communicated from Mauritius in a statement referring to both countries’ Prime Ministers, but not mentioning them by name. They are Pravind Jugnath and Sir Keir Starmer with the statement confirming agreement on the exercise of sovereignty over the archipelago.
Diego Garcia is the largest island in the archipelago and has been a joint UK/US (United States) military base since the 1970s. The sovereignty transfer to Mauritius makes provision for the base to remain under a 99 year lease pending treaty ratification.
Welcoming the return home – as it were – of the archipelago, SADC Executive Secretary Elias Magosi commended both countries involved adding the regional bloc was confident a treaty providing the framework for long term co-operation to guarantee sovereignty, including over Diego Garcia, will be expedited.
“SADC looks forward to working collaboratively and progressively with Mauritius in environmental protection and maritime security, combating illegal fishing, irregular migration and drug trafficking, among others, in the Chagos Archipelago,” a SADC statement reads in part.
