Editing Diego Garcia (section)

===Transnational political issues===
There are two transnational political issues which affect Diego Garcia and the BIOT, through the British government.

*The island state of Mauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago (which is conterminous with the BIOT), including Diego Garcia. A subsidiary issue is the Mauritian opposition to the UK Government's declaration of 1 April 2010 that the BIOT is a marine protected area with fishing and [[extractivism|extractive industry]] (including oil and gas exploration) prohibited.<ref>[http://www.afriqueavenir.org/en/2010/05/14/mauritius-to-reiterate-its-conditions-for-renewed-talks-with-uk-on-chagos/ "Mauritius to reiterate its conditions for renewed talks with UK on Chagos"], ''Afrique Avenir'', 14 May 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223113708/http://www.afriqueavenir.org/en/2010/05/14/mauritius-to-reiterate-its-conditions-for-renewed-talks-with-uk-on-chagos/ |date=23 December 2011 }}.</ref>
*The issue of compensation and repatriation of the former inhabitants, [[Expulsion of the Chagossians|exiled since 1973]], continues in litigation and as of August 2010 had been submitted to the European Court of Human Rights by a group of former residents.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article7052088.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924105418/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article7052088.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 September 2011 |newspaper=[[The Sunday Times]] |access-date=23 August 2010 |title=Chagossians fight for a home in paradise |date=6 March 2010 |first=Catherine|last= Philp}}</ref> Some{{Who|date=June 2012}} groups allege that Diego Garcia and its territorial waters out to {{convert|3|nmi|km|0}} have been restricted from public access without permission of the BIOT Government since 1971.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

On 3 November 2022, the British Foreign Secretary [[James Cleverly]] announced that the UK and Mauritius had decided to begin negotiations on sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory, taking into account international legal proceedings. Both states had agreed to ensure the continued operation of the joint UK/US military base on Diego Garcia.<ref name=guardian-20221103>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/03/uk-agrees-to-negotiate-with-mauritius-over-handover-of-chagos-islands |title=UK agrees to negotiate with Mauritius over handover of Chagos Islands |last=Wintour |first=Patrick |newspaper=The Guardian |date=3 November 2022 |access-date=3 November 2022 |archive-date=3 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221103141218/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/03/uk-agrees-to-negotiate-with-mauritius-over-handover-of-chagos-islands |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=hansard-20221103>{{cite web |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2022-11-03/debates/22110340000007/ChagosArchipelago |title=Chagos Archipelago |last=Cleverly |first=James |publisher=UK Parliament |work=Hansard |id=HCWS354 |date=3 November 2022 |access-date=3 November 2022 |archive-date=4 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104013303/https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2022-11-03/debates/22110340000007/ChagosArchipelago |url-status=live }}</ref>