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Britain and Mauritius have begun talks on the sovereignty of the disputed Chagos archipelago. This was revealed by the Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth in his New Year Address to the nation. He said the latest developments on the Chagos issue were very encouraging as the negotiations between Mauritius and Britain have begun
Britain and Mauritius have begun talks on the sovereignty of the disputed Chagos archipelago. This was revealed by the Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth in his New Year Address to the nation. He said the latest developments on the Chagos issue were very encouraging as the negotiations between Mauritius and Britain have begun.
Chagos is a remote archipelago in the Indian Ocean and is administered by Britain. There is a joint military base in Chagos operated by Britain and the United States. In 1965, Britain decided to separate the islands from Mauritius. This has forced thousands to relocate from the archipelago for setting up the military base.
Mauritius became an independent Commonwealth country in 1968. Since then, it has been demanding accession of the archipelago to its territory. This was backed by a ruling of the International Court of Justice, which upheld the demand of Mauritius.
Recently, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution recognising that the Chagos Archipelago forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius and told Britain to withdraw within six months. Britain is situated some 9,500 kilometers (5,900 miles) to the west of Chagos. But, it insisted the islands belong to London and refused to leave. The reluctance of Britain is said to be because of the strategic importance of the Island in the Indian Ocean.
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Significantly, in November 2022, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly in a written ministerial statement said that the countries have decided to begin constructive negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago. In the subsequent talks that took place, the countries agreed that a joint UK and US military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the isles, will continue to operate whatever the results of the talks.
