Paper: GS – II, Subject: International Relations, Topic: Global Issues, Issue: Chagos Island and Diego Garcia.
Context:
Britain has signed a multibillion-pound agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after a London High Court lifted a last-minute injunction.
- Under the deal, the UK retains control of the strategically vital US-UK air base on Diego Garcia via a 99-year lease paying roughly £101 million annually and £3 billion over the term to safeguard national and regional security.
Key Takeaways:
Chagos Islands:
- Geographical location: The Chagos Archipelago is located in the central Indian Ocean, about 500 kilometers south of the Maldives and roughly 1,600 kilometers southwest of India.
- The Chagos archipelago comprises of 58 islands, with Diego Garcia being the largest and most significant.
Colonial history of Chagos:
- According to a report, the Chagos Islands were discovered by Portuguese navigators in the 16th century, who mapped and named some of them.
- The Dutch explored the islands next but did not settle there.
- The islands later came under French control, along with Mauritius and Réunion, and the French gave additional names to the islands.
- They brought enslaved workers from Madagascar and Mozambique, followed by laborers from southern India, to work on coconut plantations.
- After Napoleon’s defeat, Britain took control of both Chagos and Mauritius.
- In 1814, France ceded the islands to the British.
Significance of Chagos and India’s Role:
The Britain-Mauritius Chagos deal is a landmark geopolitical agreement that settles a decades-old decolonization dispute while ensuring the continuity of strategic military operations. While legally and diplomatically significant, the deal also raises questions about Chagossian rights, financial costs, and global power dynamics in the Indian Ocean.
https://indianexpress.com/article/world/chagos-islands-deal-mauritius-london-hc-block-uk-10021905
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