On April 13, UK Minister of State Stephen Doughty acknowledged in the UK Parliament that the government had suspended its agreement with Mauritius on returning the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius.

Mauritius and the UK had agreed to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius in May 2025. The same agreement also stipulated that the UK would extend, for 99 years, its control over the joint UK–US military base on Diego Garcia Island at the southern tip of the Chagos Archipelago. However, the agreement faced strong opposition from the United States, particularly from President Donald Trump, and it was subsequently suspended.

Mauritius, on the other hand, has declared that, in response to the suspension of the agreement, it will spare no legal or diplomatic effort and will do everything in its power to reclaim the Chagos Archipelago.

The Chagos Archipelago consists of more than 60 small islands, including Diego Garcia Island, which has the largest land area, and during the British colonial period it was treated as part of Mauritius. At the time of Mauritius’s independence in 1965, the Chagos Archipelago was separated from Mauritius and retained as a British territory. All residents of the Chagos Archipelago were then forcibly relocated from the islands by various means. As their return to the Chagos Archipelago has not been permitted to this day, they are said to be living in places such as the UK, Mauritius, and Seychelles.

Among these, Diego Garcia Island, which was thus depopulated, was designated in 1966 under a UK–US agreement to be used as a US military base for 50 years, going on to play an important role in military strategy in regions such as the Middle East. Furthermore, an extension allowing the base to be used for an additional 20 years from 2016 was granted under another UK–US agreement.

Former residents of the Chagos Archipelago have continued their activism for the right of return, and in 2019 the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion stating that the UK’s administration should be brought to an end as soon as possible. The May 2025 agreement between Mauritius and the UK had taken these developments into account.

In addition, on April 22, talks on the Chagos Archipelago are scheduled to be held between the Mauritian and UK governments .

Learn more about the Chagos Archipelago → “Chagos Archipelago: A Territorial Dispute Without the Involved People”

US military aircraft on standby at the base on Diego Garcia Island (Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Caine Storino /Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0])