Mauritius and UK launch sovereignty talks over Chagos Islands

Britain and Mauritius have begun talks on the sovereignty of the disputed Chagos archipelago, the Mauritian prime minister announced Sunday (Jan. 1st).

"The latest developments on the Chagos issue are very encouraging. Negotiations between Mauritius and Britain have begun," Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said in a New Year address.

Mauritius claims the remote archipelago in the Indian Ocean in full but it is administered by Britain, which has a joint military base there with the United States.

In 1965, Britain decided to separate the islands from Mauritius, forcing thousands to relocate in Mauritus in order to set up a military base there.

Mauritius, which became an independent Commonwealth country in 1968, has long fought to return the archipelago to its territory.

A 2019 International Court of Justice ruling backed the claim by Mauritius and said Britain should give up control of the islands.

Later that year, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted in favour of a resolution recognising that "the Chagos Archipelago forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius" and recommending Britain withdraw within six months.

Britain, some 9,500 kilometres (5,900 miles) to the west from Chagos, has insisted the islands belong to London and refused to leave. In November 2022, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a written ministerial statement that the countries "have decided to begin negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago".

He said they had agreed to hold "constructive negotiations" and hope to reach an agreement early next year.

That followed a meeting in September between the countries' prime ministers at the United Nations General Assembly.

The countries agreed that a joint UK and US military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the isles, will continue to operate whatever the results of the talks, the minister said.