Editing Diego Garcia (section)

==History==

===Before European arrival===
[[File:DG Ariel Plantation.jpg|thumb|Coconut plantation, [[East Point, British Indian Ocean Territory|East Point]] (former main settlement)]]

No tangible evidence exists of people on Diego Garcia before the arrival of Europeans. There is speculation about visits during the [[Austronesia]]n diaspora around AD 700, as some say the old Maldivian name for the islands originated from [[Malagasy language|Malagasy]]. [[Arab people|Arabs]], who reached [[Lakshadweep]] and [[Maldives]] around AD 900, may have visited the Chagos. Southern Maldivian [[oral tradition]] tells of occasional traders and fishermen marooned on, and later rescued from, Foalhavahi ( ފޯޅަވަހި) Chagos.<ref>[[Xavier Romero-Frias]], ''The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom.'' Barcelona 1999, {{ISBN|84-7254-801-5}}. Chapter 1 ''"A Seafaring Nation",'' page 19</ref>

===European arrival===
The uninhabited islands were [[History of Portugal (1415–1578)#Chronology of the Portuguese discoveries|discovered]] by the Portuguese navigator, explorer, and diplomat [[Pedro Mascarenhas]] in 1512, first named as Dom Garcia, in honour of his patron, Dom [[Garcia de Noronha]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jmbd1945.blogspot.pt/2011_04_01_archive.html|title=PORTUGAL MARÍTIMO: Abril 2011|first=Josmael|last=Bardour|work=jmbd1945.blogspot.pt|access-date=16 March 2014|archive-date=16 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316195930/http://jmbd1945.blogspot.pt/2011_04_01_archive.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zianet.com/tedmorris/dg/dgtest.html|title=The Diego Garcia Test Question|work=zianet.com|access-date=16 March 2014|archive-date=23 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023153117/http://www.zianet.com/tedmorris/dg/dgtest.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=July 2023}} when he was detached from the [[Portuguese India Armadas]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zianet.com/tedmorris/dg/realhistory.html|title=History of Diego Garcia Atoll, Indian Ocean|work=zianet.com|access-date=30 July 2010|archive-date=11 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611005507/http://www.zianet.com/tedmorris/dg/realhistory.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=July 2023}} during his voyage of 1512–1513. Another Portuguese expedition with a Spanish explorer of Andalusian origin, [[Diego García de Moguer]],<ref>{{cite book|first=Edith|last= Porchat|title=Informações históricas sobre São Paulo no século de sua fundação|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4FAezV2IKwUC&pg=PA61|year=1956|publisher=Editora Iluminuras Ltda|isbn=978-85-85219-75-8|page=61}}</ref> rediscovered the island in 1544 and named it after himself. Garcia de Moguer died the same year on the return trip to Portugal in the Indian Ocean, off the South African coast. The misnomer "Diego" could have been made unwittingly by the British ever since, as they copied the Portuguese maps. It is assumed{{by whom|date=December 2017}} that the island was named after one of its first two discoverers—the one by the name of Garcia, the other with name Diego. Also, a [[cacography]] of the saying ''Deo Gracias'' (literally 'Thank God') is eligible for the attribution of the [[atoll]]. Although the [[Cantino planisphere]] (1504) and the [[Early world maps#Ruysch World Map (1507)|Ruysch map (1507)]] clearly delineate the Maldive Islands, giving them the same names, they do not show any islands to the south which can be identified as the Chagos archipelago.

[[File:Diego garcian.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[Chagossians|Chagossian]] photographed by a [[US National Geodetic Survey]] team in 1969]]
The [[Sebastian Cabot (explorer)|Sebastian Cabot]] map ([[Antwerp]] 1544) shows a number of islands to the south which may be the [[Mascarene Islands]]. The first map which identifies and names "''Los Chagos''" (in about the right position) is that of [[Pierre Desceliers]] ([[Dieppe maps#Existing Dieppe maps|Dieppe 1550]]), although Diego Garcia is not named. An island called "Don Garcia" appears on the ''[[Theatrum Orbis Terrarum]]'' of [[Abraham Ortelius]] (Antwerp 1570), together with "Dos Compagnos", slightly to the north. It may be the case that "Don Garcia" was named after Garcia de Noronha, although no evidence exists to support this.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}} The island is also labelled "Don Garcia" on [[Gerardus Mercator|Mercator]]'s ''[[Early world maps#Mercator world map (1569)|Nova et Aucta Orbis Terrae Descriptio ad Usum Navigatium Emendate]]'' (Duisburg 1569). However, on the ''Vera Totius Expeditionis Nauticae Description'' of Jodocus Hondius (London 1589), "Don Garcia" mysteriously changes its name to "I. de Dio Gratia", while the "I. de Chagues" appears close by.

The first map to delineate the island under its present name, Diego Garcia, is the ''World Map'' of [[Edward Wright (mathematician)|Edward Wright]] (London 1599), possibly as a result of misreading Dio (or simply "D.") as Diego, and Gratia as Garcia. The ''Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis Geographica'' of [[Hendrik Hondius II]] (Antwerp 1630) repeats Wright's use of the name, which is then proliferated on all subsequent Dutch maps of the period, and to the present day.

===Settlement of the island===
Diego Garcia and the rest of the Chagos islands were uninhabited until the late 18th century. In 1778, the French Governor of [[Mauritius]] granted Monsieur Dupuit de la Faye the island of Diego Garcia, and evidence exists of temporary French visits to collect coconuts and fish.<ref name="Edis_29">[[#Edis|Edis (2004)]], p. 29.</ref> Several Frenchmen living in "a dozen huts" abandoned Diego Garcia when the British [[East India Company]] attempted to establish a settlement there in April 1786.<ref name="Edis_29"/> The supplies of the 275 settlers were overwhelmed by 250 survivors of the wreck of the British East Indian Ship  ''Atlas'' in May, and the colony failed in October.<ref name="Edis_32">[[#Edis|Edis (2004)]], p. 32.</ref> Following the departure of the British, the French colony of Mauritius began marooning [[lepers]] on the island,<ref name="Edis_32"/> and in 1793, the French established a [[coconut]] plantation using [[Slavery|slave labour]], which exported, too, cordage made from coir (coconut fibre), and [[sea cucumber]]s as a far-eastern delicacy.<ref>[[#Edis|Edis (2004)]], p. 33.</ref>

Diego Garcia became a colony of the UK after the [[Napoleonic Wars]] as part of the [[Treaty of Paris (1814)]], and from 1814 to 1965 it was administered from Mauritius;<ref name="Edis 2004, p. 80"/> the main plantations were at East Point, the main settlement, Minni Minni, {{convert|4.5|km|mi|abbr=on}} north of East Point, and Pointe Marianne, on the western rim, all on the lagoon side of the atoll. The workers lived at each and at villages scattered around the atoll.

From 1881 until 1888, the atoll hosted two [[Fuelling station|coaling stations]] for [[steamships]] crossing the Indian Ocean.<ref name="Stoddart_209_218">D. R. Stoddart (1971): "Settlement and development of Diego Garcia". In: [[#Stoddart|Stoddart & Taylor (1971)]], pp. 209–218.</ref>

In 1882, the French-financed, Mauritian-based Société Huilière de Diego et de Peros (the "Oilmaking Company of Diego and Peros"), consolidated all the plantations in the Chagos under its control.<ref name="Stoddart_209_218"/>

===20th century===
[[File:Barochois Maurice, Diego Garcia.jpg|thumb|[[Barachois]] Maurice, Diego Garcia]]
[[File:Consolidated PBY Catalina wreck on Diego Garcia 1982.jpg|thumb|Catalina wreck on the beach]]

In 1914, the island was visited by the German light cruiser {{SMS|Emden}} halfway through its commerce-raiding cruise during the early months of [[World War&nbsp;I]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tPUMAAAAYAAJ |title=Helmuth von Mucke 'The Emden' |year=1916 |page= 130 |last1=Mücke |first1=Hellmuth von }}</ref>

In 1942, the British opened RAF Station Diego Garcia and established an advanced flying boat unit at the East Point Plantation, staffed and equipped by [[No. 205 Squadron RAF|No. 205]] and [[No. 240 Squadron RAF|No. 240 Squadron]]s, then stationed on Ceylon. Both [[Consolidated PBY Catalina|Catalina]] and [[Short Sunderland|Sunderland]] aircraft were flown during the course of [[World War&nbsp;II]] in search of Japanese and German submarines and surface raiders. At Cannon Point,<ref name="youtube.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1211xF65ac| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128015132/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1211xF65ac| archive-date=28 November 2011 | url-status=dead|title=Cannon Point, Diego Garcia|last=subiepowa|date=28 April 2007|via=YouTube}}</ref> two 6-inch naval guns were installed by a [[Royal Marines]] detachment. In February 1942, the mission was to protect the small Royal Navy base and Royal Air Force station located on the island from Japanese attack.<ref name="youtube.com"/> Operation of the guns was later taken over by Mauritian and Indian Coastal Artillery troops.<ref>[[#Edis|Edis (2004)]], p. 73.</ref> Following the conclusion of hostilities, the station was closed on 30 April 1946.<ref>[[#Edis|Edis (2004)]], p. 70.</ref>

In 1962, the Chagos Agalega Company of the British colony of Seychelles purchased the Société Huilière de Diego et Peros and moved company headquarters to Seychelles.<ref name="Edis_82">[[#Edis|Edis (2004)]], p. 82.</ref>

In the early 1960s, the UK was [[East of Suez#20th century|withdrawing its military presence]] from the Indian Ocean, not including the airfield at [[RAF Gan]] to the north of Diego Garcia in the Maldives (which remained open until 1976), and agreed to permit the United States to establish a naval communication station on one of its island territories there. The United States requested an unpopulated island belonging to the UK to avoid political difficulties with newly independent countries, and ultimately the UK and United States agreed that Diego Garcia was a suitable location.<ref name="Sand_3">[[#Sand|Sand (2009)]], p. 3.</ref>

===Purchase by the United Kingdom===
[[File:Ted Morris on Diego Garcia.jpg|thumb|upright|An unpaved road in Diego Garcia in the eastern restricted zone, home to the former plantations]]

To accomplish the UK–US mutual defence strategy, in November 1965, the UK purchased the [[Chagos Archipelago]], which includes Diego Garcia, from the then self-governing colony of Mauritius for £3 million to create the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]] (BIOT), with the intent of ultimately closing the plantations to provide the uninhabited British territory from which the United States would conduct its military activities in the region.<ref name="Sand_3"/>

In April 1966, the British government bought the entire assets of the Chagos Agalega Company in the BIOT for £600,000 and administered them as a government enterprise and immediately leased the plantations back to Chagos Agalega while awaiting United States funding of the proposed facilities, with an interim objective of paying for the administrative expenses of the new territory.<ref name="Edis_82"/> However, the plantations, both under their previous private ownership and under government administration, proved consistently unprofitable due to the introduction of new oils and lubricants in the international marketplace, and the establishment of vast coconut plantations in the East Indies and the Philippines and the company terminated the lease at the end of 1967.<ref>{{cite BAILII|litigants=Chagos Islanders v Attorney General and Her Majesty's British Indian Ocean Territory Commissioner |year=2003 |num=2222 |court=EWHC |division=QB |date=9 October 2003}}</ref>

On 30 December 1966, the United States and the UK executed an agreement through an Exchange of Notes which permitted the United States to use the BIOT for defence purposes for 50 years until December 2016, followed by a 20-year extension (to 2036) as long as neither party gave notice of termination in a two-year window (December 2014 – December 2016) and the UK may decide on what additional terms to extend the agreement.<ref>"[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmfaff/377/37702.htm Report: The use of Diego Garcia by the United States] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201043141/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmfaff/377/37702.htm |date=1 December 2017 }}". UK Parliament, September 2014</ref> No monetary payment was made from the United States to the UK as part of this agreement or any subsequent amendment. Rather, the United Kingdom received a US$14-million discount from the United States on the acquisition of submarine-launched [[UGM-27 Polaris|Polaris missiles]] per a now-declassified addendum to the 1966 agreement.<ref>[[#Sand|Sand (2009)]], pp. 6–8.</ref>

===Arrival of the U.S. Navy===
To the United States, Diego Garcia was a prime territory for setting up a foreign military base. According to Stuart Barber—a civilian working for the US Navy at [[the Pentagon]]—Diego Garcia was located far away from any potential threats, it was low in a native population and it was an island that was not sought after by other countries as it lacked economic interest. To Barber, Diego Garcia and other acquired islands would play a key role in maintaining US dominance. Here Barber designed the strategic island concept, where the US would obtain as many less populated islands as possible for military purposes. According to Barber, this was the only way to ensure security for a foreign base. Diego Garcia is often referred to as "Fantasy Island" for its seclusion.

[[File:Seychelles Governor inspection 1972.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|[[Bruce Greatbatch|Sir Bruce Greatbatch]], [[Governor of the Seychelles]], oversaw the [[depopulation of Chagossians from the Chagos Archipelago]].]]
The key component in obtaining Diego Garcia was the perceived lack of a native population on the island. Uninhabited until the late 18th century, Diego Garcia had no indigenous population. Its only inhabitants were European overseers who managed the coconut plantations for their absentee landowners and contract workers mostly of African, Indian, and Malay ancestry, known as [[Chagossians]], who had lived and worked on the plantations for several generations. Prior to setting up a military base, the United States government was informed by the British government—which owned the island—that Diego Garcia had a population of hundreds. The eventual number of Chagossians numbered around 1,000.<ref name="Health_and_Mortality_papers">{{cite book |url=http://www.zianet.com/tedmorris/dg/chagosmortalityreport.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024211628/http://www.zianet.com/tedmorris/dg/chagosmortalityreport.pdf |archive-date=24 October 2007 |url-status=live |publisher=[[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]] |title=Health & Mortality in the Chagos Islands |series=Research and Analytical Papers |author=African Research Group |year=2000 |access-date=27 September 2011}}</ref>

Regardless of the size of the population, the Chagossians had to be removed from the island before the base could be constructed. In 1968, the first tactics were implemented to decrease the population of Diego Garcia. Those who left the island—either for vacation or medical purposes—were not allowed to return, and those who stayed could obtain only restricted food and medical supplies. This tactic was in hope that those that stayed would leave "willingly".<ref name="WashingtonPost-2007-01-01">{{cite news | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/01/AR2007010100698.html | title = Island of Injustice | author = David Vine | newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] | archive-date = 10 August 2017 | access-date = 27 August 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170810112003/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/01/AR2007010100698.html | url-status = live }}</ref> One of the tactics used was ordering all Chagossian dogs to be killed.<ref name="murder">{{cite news |url=http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/27b/036.html |title=Diego Garcia—How the Brits deported a nation |date=22 October 2004 |newspaper=Z Magazine |access-date=3 October 2024 |archive-date=7 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007091935/http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/27b/036.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 1971, United States Naval [[Seabee|construction battalions]] arrived on Diego Garcia to begin the construction of the communications station and an airfield.<ref>{{cite web |first=Ted |last=Morris |url=http://www.zianet.com/tedmorris/dg/71.html |title=Personal Accounts of Landing on Diego Garcia, 1971 |publisher=Zianet.com |access-date=21 June 2012 |archive-date=14 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110314140054/http://www.zianet.com/tedmorris/dg/71.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=July 2023}} To satisfy the terms of an agreement between the UK and the United States for an uninhabited island, the plantation on Diego Garcia was closed in October of that year.<ref name="Sand_24">[[#Sand|Sand (2009)]], p. 24.</ref> The plantation workers and their families were relocated to the plantations on Peros Banhos and Salomon atolls to the northwest. The by-then-independent Mauritian government refused to accept the islanders without payment, and in 1974, the UK gave the Mauritian government an additional £650,000 to resettle the islanders.<ref name="Sand_25">[[#Sand|Sand (2009)]], p. 25.</ref> Those who still remained on the island of Diego Garcia between 1971 and 1973 were forced onto cargo ships that were heading to Mauritius and the Seychelles.

By 1973, construction of the Naval Communications Station was complete.<ref>[[#Edis|Edis (2004)]], p. 88.</ref> In the early 1970s, setbacks to United States military capabilities in the region including the [[fall of Saigon]], victory of the [[Khmer Rouge]] in Cambodia, the closure of the [[Peshawar Air Station]] listening post in [[Pakistan]] and [[Kagnew Station]] in Eritrea, the [[Mayaguez incident|''Mayaguez'' incident]], and the build-up of Soviet naval presence in [[Aden]] and a Soviet airbase at Berbera, [[Somalia]], caused the United States to request, and the UK to approve, permission to build a fleet anchorage and enlarged airfield on Diego Garcia,<ref name="Edis_90">[[#Edis|Edis (2004)]], p. 90.</ref> and the Seabees doubled the number of workers constructing these facilities.<ref name="Edis_90"/>

[[File:The O Club on Diego Garcia.jpg|thumb|This 1982 photo shows an unpaved road made of crushed coral common throughout the island and the officers' dining area at the Diego Garcia Naval Support Facility.]]

Following the fall of the [[Shah of Iran]] and the [[Iran hostage crisis|Iran Hostage Crisis]] in 1979–1980, the West became concerned with ensuring the flow of oil from the [[Persian Gulf]] through the [[Strait of Hormuz]], and the United States received permission for a $400-million expansion of the military facilities on Diego Garcia consisting of two parallel {{convert|12000|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} runways, expansive parking aprons for heavy bombers, 20 new anchorages in the lagoon, a deep-water pier, port facilities for the largest naval vessels in the U.S. and British fleets, aircraft hangars, maintenance buildings and an air terminal, a {{convert|1340000|oilbbl}} fuel storage area, and [[billet]]ing and messing facilities for thousands of sailors and support personnel.<ref name="Edis_90"/> The closure of the U.S. bases in the [[Philippines]] in the early 1990s brought many workers from [[U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay|Subic Bay]] and [[Clark Air Base]] to Diego Garcia.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.andersen.af.mil/News/Commentaries/Display/Article/416777/diego-garcias-master-budget-analyst-resource-advisor-recognized/ | title=Diego Garcia's master budget analyst, resource advisor recognized | date=8 May 2013 | access-date=11 March 2023 | archive-date=11 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311011516/https://www.andersen.af.mil/News/Commentaries/Display/Article/416777/diego-garcias-master-budget-analyst-resource-advisor-recognized/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

===21st century===
On 23 June 2017, the [[United Nations General Assembly]] (UNGA) voted in favour of referring the territorial dispute between Mauritius and the UK to the [[International Court of Justice]] (ICJ) in order to clarify the legal status of the Chagos Islands archipelago in the Indian Ocean. The motion was approved by a majority vote with 94 voting for and 15 against.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sengupta|first1=Somini|title=U.N. Asks International Court to Weigh in on Britain-Mauritius Dispute|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/22/world/europe/uk-mauritius-chagos-islands.html|work=The New York Times|date=22 June 2017|archive-date=27 December 2019|access-date=23 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227214438/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/22/world/europe/uk-mauritius-chagos-islands.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Chagos legal status sent to international court by UN|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40376673|access-date=23 June 2017|work=BBC News|date=22 June 2017|archive-date=3 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703075109/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40376673|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 2019, the ICJ in [[The Hague]] ruled that the United Kingdom must transfer the islands to Mauritius as they were not legally separated from the latter in 1965. The UK Foreign Office said the ruling is not legally binding.<ref name="bbc.com">{{cite web |title=Chagos Islands dispute: UK obliged to end control – UN |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47358602 |work=BBC News |date=25 February 2019 |access-date=25 February 2019 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126230026/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47358602 |url-status=live }}</ref>  In May 2019, the United Nations General Assembly affirmed the decision of the International Court of Justice and demanded that the United Kingdom withdraw its colonial administration from the Islands and cooperate with Mauritius to facilitate the resettlement of Mauritian nationals in the archipelago.<ref>{{cite web |title=UK suffers crushing defeat in UN vote on Chagos Islands |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/22/uk-suffers-crushing-defeat-un-vote-chagos-islands |work=The Guardian |date=23 May 2019 |access-date=6 June 2019 |archive-date=23 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523022954/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/22/uk-suffers-crushing-defeat-un-vote-chagos-islands |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 22 May 2019 |url=https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/73/295 |work=UN General Assembly |date=22 May 2019 |access-date=6 June 2019 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308160804/https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/73/295 |url-status=live }}</ref>  In a written statement, the U.S. government said that neither the Americans nor the British have any plans to discontinue use of the military base on Diego Garcia. The statement said in a footnote: "In 2016, there were discussions between the United Kingdom and the United States concerning the continuing importance of the joint base. Neither party gave notice to terminate and the agreement remains in force until 2036".<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.stripes.com/news/un-ruling-raises-questions-about-future-of-us-mission-in-diego-garcia-1.571709 |title= UN ruling raises questions about future of US mission in Diego Garcia |date= 7 March 2019 |first= Joshua |last= Karsten |publisher= Stars and Stripes |access-date= 16 June 2019 |archive-date= 16 June 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190616221338/https://www.stripes.com/news/un-ruling-raises-questions-about-future-of-us-mission-in-diego-garcia-1.571709 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref name= thakkar />

In June 2020, a Mauritian official offered to allow the United States to retain its military base on the island if Mauritius succeeded in regaining sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://seapowermagazine.org/navy-base-in-diego-garcia-welcome-to-stay-after-transfer-of-sovereignty-official-says/ |title=Navy Base in Diego Garcia Welcome to Stay After Transfer of Sovereignty, Official Says |last=Burgess |first=Richard R. |date=24 June 2020 |website=Seapower Magazine |publisher=[[Navy League of the United States]] |access-date=19 June 2020 |quote=The U.S. Navy base in Diego Garcia, an outpost in the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean, would be welcome to remain if Mauritius succeeds in its sovereignty claim over the archipelago, currently known as the British Indian Ocean Territories (BIOT), a Mauritian official said. |archive-date=30 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730214555/https://seapowermagazine.org/navy-base-in-diego-garcia-welcome-to-stay-after-transfer-of-sovereignty-official-says/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Chagos Marine Protected Area===
On 1 April 2010, the [[Chagos Marine Protected Area]] (MPA) was declared to cover the waters around the Chagos Archipelago. However, Mauritius objected, stating this was contrary to its legal rights, and on 18 March 2015, in light of the ''[[Mauritius v. United Kingdom]]'' case, the [[Permanent Court of Arbitration]] ruled that the Chagos Marine Protected Area was illegal under the [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea]] as Mauritius had legally binding rights to fish in the waters surrounding the Chagos Archipelago, to an eventual return of the Chagos Archipelago, and to the preservation of any minerals or oil discovered in or near the Chagos Archipelago prior to its return.<ref name="guardian-20150319">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/19/un-ruling-raises-hope-of-return-for-exiled-chagos-islanders |title=UN ruling raises hope of return for exiled Chagos islanders |first=Owen |last=Bowcott |author2=Sam Jones |newspaper=The Guardian |date=19 March 2015 |access-date=29 March 2015 |archive-date=4 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704214813/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/19/un-ruling-raises-hope-of-return-for-exiled-chagos-islanders |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="cga-pressrelease">{{cite web|url=http://www.pca-cpa.org/showfile.asp?fil_id=2901 |title=Chagos Marine Protected Area Arbitration (Mauritius v. United Kingdom) (Press Release and Summary of Award) |publisher=Permanent Court of Arbitration |date=19 March 2015 |access-date=29 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402064110/http://www.pca-cpa.org/showfile.asp?fil_id=2901 |archive-date= 2 April 2015 }}</ref>

=== Handover of the island to Mauritius ===
On 3 October 2024, the UK prime minister [[Keir Starmer]] announced in a statement with the Mauritian prime minister [[Pravind Jugnauth]] that the UK will hand over the Chagos islands to Mauritius. The joint base on the island will stay, with the UK initially taking a 99-year lease of the base from Mauritius. Mauritius will be allowed to begin resettlement on the Chagos Archipelago, but not on Diego Garcia due to the sensitive nature of the base. US president [[Joe Biden]] welcomed the agreement, saying that it was a "clear demonstration that through diplomacy and partnership, countries can overcome long-standing historical challenges to reach peaceful and mutually beneficial outcomes".<ref name="Harding-2024">{{Cite web |last=Harding |first=Andrew |date=2024-10-03 |title=UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98ynejg4l5o |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=[[BBC News]] |language=en-GB |archive-date=3 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241003225136/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98ynejg4l5o |url-status=live }}</ref> The deal was put on hold following the [[2024 United States presidential election]] to allow consideration from the [[Second cabinet of Donald Trump|new incoming administration]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Crerar |first=Pippa |last2=Walker |first2=Peter |date=2025-01-15 |title=UK stalls Chagos Islands deal until Trump administration can ‘consider detail’ |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/15/uk-chagos-islands-handover-mauritius-donald-trump-diego-garcia |access-date=2025-01-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> On 1 April 2025, the new administration approved letting treaty negotiations continue.<ref name="The Guardian April 2025">{{cite web | last=Courea | first=Eleni | title=Donald Trump signs off UK’s handover of Chagos Islands to Mauritius | website=the Guardian | date=April 1, 2025 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/01/donald-trump-signs-off-uks-handover-of-chagos-islands-to-mauritius | access-date=May 6, 2025}}</ref>