An agreement between the UK and Mauritius on the Chagos Archipelago is being hailed as a key step in decolonization, but the Diego Garcia island will remain a military base under US control.
African and the Non-aligned countries, except Maldives, unitedly backed Mauritius’ claim for sovereignty over the Chagos. Australia, Hungary, Israel, Maldives, United Kingdom, and United States voted against the resolution.
The UK now says that the US military base ‘helps to protect people here in Britain and around the world from terrorist threats, organised crime and piracy’
The United Kingdom had coaxed Mauritius to sell the Chagos Islands to them for a meager compensation, and later leased it to the US to set up a military base by deporting hundreds of native Chagossians