UK gives sovereignty of the long-contested Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a key US base remains

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00:00Well, in other world news now, the British government has agreed to hand over sovereignty

00:04of the Chagos Islands after more than half a century.

00:08The remote but strategically important cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean will be handed

00:13over to Mauritius in a historic move, which British Foreign Secretary David Lammy says

00:17will secure future of a key UK and US military base.

00:21Well, for more, let's cross to our correspondent, Bénédicte Paviot, in London.

00:25Bénédicte, first, give us a sense of just how significant this move is.

00:30Oh, this is significant.

00:33This is historic.

00:34It is a huge shift.

00:37And suddenly we got this announcement midday today that the UK had announced it was ready

00:43to give up its sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

00:47Yes, they're remote, but they are strategically important group of islands in the Indian Ocean.

00:55This deal has really been reached after years of some say fractures, others say, more politely,

01:00possibly difficult negotiations between the two countries.

01:03And the announcement today was made in a joint statement by the UK and Mauritian prime ministers.

01:09So significantly, this deal includes the atoll of Diego Garcia, Diego Garcia, which is used,

01:16of course, by the US government as a military base for its Navy ships and long range bomber

01:21aircraft.

01:22But we've learned that also significantly, the US-UK base will remain on Diego Garcia.

01:28The UK will ensure operation, we understand, of the military base for an initial period

01:33of 99 years.

01:34So what's next and what is important to add is that the deal is still subject to a treaty

01:42being agreed, but both countries have promised already to complete it as quickly as possible.

01:50And they talk about a really resolving, finding a peaceful resolution of disputes and the

01:55rule of law.

01:56Both prime ministers talked about that, both the newish prime minister Keir Starmer here

02:01in the UK and Mauritius prime minister Pravin Jugnot.

02:05So the treaty, they say, quote, will address wrongs of the past and demonstrate the commitment

02:11of both parties to support the welfare of Chagossians.

02:14And we can see from the pictures there that it is in a remote but beautifully placed part

02:20of the world.

02:21Now, these negotiations have been going on for years now.

02:24So why has the UK made the decision now?

02:28They have indeed been going on for years and they have at times been very difficult, very

02:34contentious.

02:35So what's changed, what's shifted and why now?

02:37In recent years, the UK has faced really a growing tide of diplomatic isolation over

02:44this claim that it refers to as the British Indian Ocean Territory.

02:50And especially, I think, the United Nations, various United Nations bodies, including its

02:54top court, its General Assembly, overwhelmingly and frequently siding with Mauritius.

03:00Then you've got Brexit, which meant that quite a few European countries were less willing

03:05to defend, in that sense, the UK in international forums.

03:10But until recently, the UK insisted that it had, that Mauritius itself had no legitimate

03:15claim to the islands.

03:17Already a reaction here, some who are very unhappy at this and say that this is not right,

03:24this is giving up something that is very important strategically for the United Kingdom.

03:30And the timing is significant, with a looming Trump presidency certainly added a very, well,

03:36big turmoil in international affairs, not least Ukraine and the Middle East.

03:40I think that the UK and this new government is trying to win support in different bodies

03:46and different countries across the world.

03:48So I think this is also about gaining allies.

03:51All right, thank you very much for that.

03:54Benedict Pavieux reporting for us there in London.

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