Mauritius and the United Kingdom have finally opened negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the disputed Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean, where the UK has a joint military base with the United States, Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth announced on Sunday.
“The latest developments on the Chagos issue are very encouraging. Negotiations between Mauritius and Britain have begun,” Jugnauth said.
Occupied by Britain since 1814, the Chagos archipelago was not fully returned to Mauritius when it won independence from the UK in 1968, as the European kingdom had established a joint military base with the US two years earlier on Diego Garcia, the largest of the 60 small islands of the Chagos archipelago.
The government of Port Louis and the Chagossians, the indigenous population of the archipelago that was forced to leave the island upon the establishment of the UK-US base, have long fought in British courts to get the occupied territory back.
However, in 2019, Mauritius’ efforts were crowned with success after the International Court of Justice ruled that London must end its “unlawful” administration of the Indian Ocean territory. The UN's highest court's decision was followed by a General Assembly resolution that stressed, “The Chagos Archipelago forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius,” calling on the UK to withdraw within six months.
In November 2022, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced that London and Port Louis had agreed to launch “constructive negotiations” on the disputed territory, highlighting that the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia will continue to operate regardless of the outcome of negotiations.
“Taking into account relevant legal proceedings, it is our intention to secure an agreement on the basis of international law to resolve all outstanding issues, including those relating to the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago,” Cleverly said.