UK Hands Sovereignty of Chagos Islands to China-Aligned Mauritius

Chagos islanders will be able to return home, but the US will retain control of the vital Diego Garcia airbase in the Indian Ocean.

Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos Archipelago and site of a major U.S. military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean, leased from the UK in 1966. File Photo

The UK has agreed to a deal to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, in the Indian Ocean, to Mauritius but said the status of the U.S. military base on Diego Garcia will be preserved.

Diego Garcia, which hosts an air base that was crucial during the 2003 Iraq War, is one of more than 60 islands in the archipelago, and the United States has had a presence there since 1966.