UK hands Indian Ocean islands to Mauritius but keeps key US military base

LONDON: Britain on Thursday said it would give up sovereignty of a remote Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius but will maintain there a strategic military base that it shares with the United States, in what US President Joe Biden described as a “historic agreement”.

The British government has been under pressure for decades to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a former colony, but has resisted because of the military base on Diego Garcia island that plays a key role for US operations in the Indian Ocean and Gulf.

“For the first time in more than 50 years, the status of the base will be undisputed and legally secure,” the UK foreign ministry said. A joint British-Mauritian statement said the base would remain open on an “initial” 99-year lease.

Biden hailed the continuation of the base on Diego Garcia -- the largest island in the chain -- which was notably used during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The base is used by US long range bombers and ships.

“I applaud the historic agreement and conclusion of the negotiations,” Biden said, adding that the site “plays a vital role in national, regional, and global security”.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he spoke to his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth, who later said that the deal showed how a small country can “win justice against major powers”.