By: Nabhjyot Arora, Research Analyst, GSDN
The government of the Republic of Mauritius and the United Kingdom reached a historic agreement on October 03, 2024, on transferring the sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, to Port Louis. The United Kingdom will retain the sovereignty of Diego Garcia, which the United States exercises as a military base for the navy ships and long-range bomber aircrafts. The treaty will end diplomatic isolation of Britain, over its claim to the British Indian Ocean Territory, which will be ceded as the ‘last colony in Africa’. A financial support package will be provided to Mauritius, including annual payments and infrastructure investment, while securing a long-term relationship with Mauritius, a close Commonwealth Partner.
Strategic Importance of Chagos Islands
The Chagos Islands – an archipelago of more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean, lies east of Mauritius in Southern Africa and is located at a distance of 2191 kilometres from it. The islands remain critical to global security operations in the Indian Ocean, connecting the Middle East, South Asia, and East Africa.
The United States accessed the base to conduct military operations during the wars in the Republic of Iraq and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The development of Diego Garcia as a military base involved the eviction of 2,000 residents to Mauritius and the Seychelles, while others were displaced to the United Kingdom.
Migrant Issues
The agreement states that relocating displaced Chagossians back to the Chagos Islands, other than Diego Garcia, will be provided with a resettlement fund from the United Kingdom. A trust fund will be provided for the descendants of the 1,500 Chagossians who were forcefully evicted from the islands between the 1960s and 1970s, which the Human Rights Watch described as ‘crimes against humanity committed by a colonial power against an Indigenous people’.
The displaced complain of ill-treatment and low salaries in their adopted countries, and state that they have never been made a part of the negotiations. The Conservative Government in the United Kingdom refused the ‘right to return’, which the agreement reversed to maintain the pathway for Chagossians to obtain British Citizenship and return to an island, other than Diego Garcia. The migrant issue also deals with the Sri Lankan Tamils who have been held in a fenced camp on the island, stranded for more than two years in a makeshift camp on Diego Garcia.
Economic & Environmental Development
The agreement will enable infrastructure development and partnership, backed by the United Kingdom grant funding to deliver strategic projects. Mauritius and the United Kingdom will as well collaborate on projects on environmental protection, maritime security, and crime prevention, in addition to combating drug and human trafficking, as well as, illegal fishing in the Chagos Archipelago.
The region is rich in biodiversity and hosts over 200 species of coral and over 800 species of fish, thereby protection is enabled by the establishment of the Mauritian Marine Protected Area, enabling environmental cooperation between Mauritius and the United Kingdom.
Commercial fishing and tourism development could enable island restoration and economic revival. Cooperation between Seychelles and Mauritius to establish a joint management area of the underwater extended continental shelf to enable protection of the marine ecosystems threatened by climate change.
Inhabitation of islands might potentially result in increased levels of heat and pollution, thereby potentially damaging the islands. Except for the US military base on Diego Garcia at the southern tip of the archipelago, the islands have been uninhabited since 1973.
Security Implications & Foreign Policy
There remains contention regarding the handling of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, especially with the Conservatives in the United Kingdom, apprehending close relations between China and Mauritius, as the latter could provide access to the strategic territory, resulting in a potential security threat to the military base of Diego Garcia.
The apprehension remains over the infrastructural development taken up by China, in addition to the Sino-Minitians tracing their ancestry back to Beijing, which can jeopardize the ties between the United Kingdom and the United States.
The base remains the key logistical center for navy ships, long-range bombers, and intelligence operations in the Indian Ocean Region (IOCR), especially with the expansion of Iran and Lebanon’s military expansion and attacks in the region, a stronghold of the United States is crucial to maintain international security, in addition to the escalation of China-Taiwan conflict and Beijing militarization of the South China Sea.
Political Implications
The territorial dispute has raised internal conflicts, with the Labour Party under scrutiny for potentially ceding away the remaining 13 British Overseas Territories (BOTs). Argentina could potentially reclaim authority over the Falkland Islands, however, Bermuda, Dhekelia in Cyprus, Gibraltar Islands, the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri, Caribbean, Pitcairn, and St. Helena are not contested so far.
The migrant issue can be a cause of concern for Gibraltar, with an open land border policy, in addition to a potential claim by Spain. Countries in the European Union (EU) and the African subcontinent remain less supportive of the United Kingdom, while the agreement with Mauritius could provide some leverage against diplomatic isolation especially with the United States Presidential Elections turning in favour of Donald Trump.
The Role of New Delhi
The extension of the United States in the Indo-Pacific region supports balancing ties with Beijing, in addition to increasing its deterrence ability to secure the maritime frontiers. The United States of America and the Republic of India have granted support to secure the national interests of Mauritius in the Global South. Back-channel diplomacy aimed at securing peace and rule-based order in the Indo-Pacific highlights the statement made at the Shangri La Dialogue in 2018 by the Indian Prime Minister respecting international law and negotiations to resolve border disputes.
