The Chagos Islands deal is “not perfect ... after long-running negotiations returns sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius, but will see Britain lease back the military site on Diego Garcia, the ...

Reuters. An undated file photo shows Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago and site of a major United States military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean leased from ...

Diego Garcia is the southernmost island in the archipelago. It began to be used as a military station in the seventies, but its importance skyrocketed after the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979.

The Chagos Archipelago became a British territory in 1814. In 1965, the U.K. formally separated the islands from its then-colony Mauritius, before Mauritius gained independence three years later.

The Chagos Islands have been under British control since 1814, when they were ceded by France. The archipelago is best known for the military base on Diego Garcia, which has supported U.S ...

The base sits on Diego Garcia, "the largest of 55 islands that form the Chagos Archipelago and is known as the 'Footprint of Freedom' for its shape, regional location, and strategic importance ...

Diego Garcia, the largest in the Chagos group in the central Indian Ocean, is about 1,300 miles northeast of Mauritian capital Port Louis.For half a century, it has been a staging area for major ...

The deal will transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands from the UK to Mauritius — though Britain will retain control of the largest of the chain of islands, Diego Garcia, which hosts a ...

The Chagos Islands are in the middle of the Indian Ocean and home to a strategic military base on Diego Garcia. Listen ... The Chagos Archipelago became a British territory in 1814.

LONDON (AP) — The British government agreed Thursday 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 ...

Britain said on Thursday it would cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a deal it said secured the future of the UK-U.S. Diego Garcia military base, and which could also pave the ...

June 25, 2025 at 10:45pm BST. The Chagos Islands deal is “not perfect” but must be ratified to avoid legal challenges that could threaten UK control of a vital military airbase, peers have said.