India played quiet but important role in UK-Mauritius Chagos archipelago agreement: Sources

NEW DELHI: India played a quiet, but important, role in the background of the Chagos archipelago agreement between the United Kingdom and Mauritius, sources said.

India firmly backed the principled Mauritian position, supporting its stance on the need to do away with the last vestiges of decolonisation. But, it also consistently encouraged both sides to negotiate with an open mind and with a view to achieving mutually beneficial outcomes.

“India played a quiet but important role in the background. It firmly backed the principled Mauritian position, supporting its stance on the need to do away with the last vestiges of decolonisation. At the same time, it consistently encouraged both sides to negotiate with an open mind and with a view to achieving mutually beneficial outcomes”, sources said.

“It is believed that the final outcome is a win for all sides involved and will reinforce long term security in the Indian Ocean region”, it added.

This comes after the United Kingdom announced giving up the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a deal that would allow people displaced decades ago to return home while the UK retains the use of the British-US military base on Diego Garcia.

The UK said that the operation of Diego Garcia, a strategic military base jointly operated with the United States, was protected by the agreement, which also allows Mauritius to resettle the rest of the islands after its population was displaced. This marks a significant shift in geopolitical negotiations between the two countries.

“The treaty will address wrongs of the past and demonstrate the commitment of both parties to support the welfare of Chagossians. Mauritius will now be free to implement a programme of resettlement on the islands of the Chagos Archipelago, other than Diego Garcia, and the UK will capitalise a new trust fund, as well as separately provide other support, for the benefit of Chagossians”, the joint statement by UK and Mauritius stated.

Meanwhile, India has welcomed the agreement between the United Kingdom and Mauritius and said that this significant understanding completes the decolonisation of Mauritius.

Our Statement on Agreement between the United Kingdom and Mauritius regarding return of Mauritian sovereignty over Chagos Archipelago:https://t.co/mqhi24BysS pic.twitter.com/y2VlMCOH5F

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 3, 2024

“We welcome the agreement between the United Kingdom and Mauritius on the return of Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago, including Diego Garcia. This significant understanding completes the decolonisation of Mauritius. The resolution of the longstanding Chagos dispute after two years of negotiations, in compliance with international law, is a welcome development”, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

It stated that India has consistently supported Mauritius’s claim for sovereignty over Chagos, while adding that it remains committed to working with Mauritius and other like-minded partners in strengthening maritime safety and security.

“India has consistently supported Mauritius’s claim for sovereignty over Chagos, in line with its principled stand on decolonization and support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations, as well as its longstanding and close partnership with Mauritius”, MEA stated.

“India remains committed to working with Mauritius and other like-minded partners in strengthening maritime safety and security and contributing to enhanced peace and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region”, it added.

Notably, the International Court of Justice had previously spoken for the UK to cede the island territory back to Mauritius in 2019.

The UK had controlled the region since 1814 and had detached the Chagos Islands in 1965 from Mauritius so as to create the British Indian Ocean Territory. In the early 1970s, UK evicted almost 2,000 residents to Mauritius and the Seychelles to make way for an airbase on the largest island, Diego Garcia, which it had leased to the US in 1966, Al Jazeera reported. (ANI)