Washington said the deal protected the long-term, secure and effective operation of the strategic military base.

The U.K. has agreed to hand sovereignty of the long-contested Chagos Islands, an archipelago of more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean, to Mauritius, in a deal to secure the future of a strategically important U.

Activists have decried a deal that the UK will cede sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius with the exception of Diego Garcia.

For years, Mauritius demanded the UK end its control on the Chagos Archipelago. Why was their ownership a matter of contention, and what are the interests of countries like the US and India here? We explain.

The mystery around this tropical base has more to do with the dodgy way the UK and US manage to steal the island from the locals and less about what occurs there.

Britain has agreed to give up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, ending a long-standing dispute over the United Kingdom’s last African colony, after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the UK unlawfully separated the Chagos archipelago from Mauritius before granting it independence.

The UK agreed to transfer the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius after 99 years. The initial period allows the UK to manage Diego Garcia while ensuring t

While the UK and US retain a key strategic military base in the Indian Ocean, the two governments remain apprehensive over the security of the island.

India played an important role in forging a historic deal between Mauritius and the United Kingdom over the strategically significant UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, a move that finally de-colonised the tiny island nation.