On May 22, the UK’s agreement with Mauritius regarding the transfer of Chagos Islands was at last given the green light, as a UK judge overturned an injunction that had blocked the deal hours before.
The Chagos Islands will return to Mauritius, but the Diego Garcia military base will still remain under control of the US and the UK. The UK is set to pay £101 million (US$135 million) per year as part of the agreement of leasing Diego Garcia. The US will pay for "running costs."
All the way back in October 2024, the United Kingdom handed over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, ending decades of often fractious negotiations between the two nations. The move also reignited one of the most shameful episodes in recent geopolitical history, that of the forced deportation of up to 2,000 Chagossians from their native land to make way for the construction of the joint US-UK military base of Diego Garcia.
But where exactly are the Chagos Islands, and why did the UK give them up? Click through and revisit the history behind this significant announcement.