New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar Tuesday reiterated India’s support for Mauritius on the Chagos archipelago sovereignty dispute with the UK. The archipelago contains the island of Diego Garcia, which is home to a US naval support facility.
“As we look at our deep and enduring relationship, Prime Minister (of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth) I would like to again assure you today that on the issue of Chagos, India will continue its consistent support to Mauritius in line with its principled stand on decolonisation and support for sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations,” said Jaishankar in Port Louis, Mauritius.
The external affairs minister is on a two-day visit to the country from 16-17 July — his first to an African country since he reassumed charge of the external affairs ministry.
India in 2019 voted in favour of a United Nations General Assembly resolution demanding the return of the territory to Mauritius.
Port Louis has for over four decades claimed sovereignty over the archipelago, saying the islands were brought under direct British control before the independence of Mauritius in 1968. The population settled there were forcibly resettled by London between 1967 and 1973, while some were given compensation for the same.
The International Court of Justice in 2019 in an advisory opinion said the UK did not have any authority to take control of the disputed islands before the independence of Mauritius and asked it to end its administration over Chagos.
The strategic location of Diego Garcia and the Chagos archipelago saw India’s support for the Mauritius position dragged into Maldivian domestic politics a couple of years ago, especially at the height of the ‘India Out’ movement in the country.
Mohamed Munavvar, the former Attorney General of Maldives, had in 2022 claimed that Malé’s support for the position of Mauritius — amid its own maritime border dispute with Port Louis — was due to New Delhi, according to local media reports.
Munavvar claimed once the Chagos archipelago was returned to Mauritius, India would swoop in and gain complete control over the Indian Ocean Region, thereby negatively affecting Maldives’ interest in the region.
His allegations of India’s interest in Chagos stemmed from the enduring partnership between New Delhi and Port Louis and the historic people-to-people ties between the two countries. Such claims in Maldivian domestic politics, amid the ‘India Out’ campaign, nevertheless indicated the geostrategic importance of the disputed archipelago.
Brief of Mauritius-UK dispute
In 1964, talks between the UK and its ally the US began over the use of islands in the Indian Ocean for defence purposes. Washington D.C. had indicated the possible use of Diego Garcia as a military communication facility.
London would be responsible for acquiring the land, resettling any local population with compensation, while the US would be responsible for constructing and maintaining the defence installations.
According to a memorandum written by its foreign office, the UK believed that the best course of action was to detach Diego Garcia and the Chagos archipelago from its colony of Mauritius and bring it under direct control of London. However, the foreign office noted that doing so without Port Louis’ consent could invite criticism from the United Nations.
For London, it was now imperative to have Mauritius agree to the excision of the island chain, despite Port Louis’ rejection of the idea. The then premier of Mauritius Seewoosagur Ramgoolam suggested that a 99-year lease would be acceptable over the complete detachment of Chagos from its territories.
A note prepared by Oliver Wright, the private secretary to the British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, suggested they frighten Ramgoolam to concede to the detachment of the islands, lest Mauritius would not be allowed independence.
The threat worked and Mauritius agreed to the demands by the United Kingdom to the excision of the archipelago from its territories, according to information made available by the International Court of Justice.
In 1980, Ramgoolam, as the then Prime Minister, asked for the territory to be restored to Mauritius at the United Nations General Assembly.
While the dispute continued over decades, in 2019 the United Nations General Assembly, based on the advisory opinion given by the International Court of Justice, passed a non-binding resolution demanding the UK withdraw from the Chagos archipelago within six months.
India was among the 116 countries to vote for the resolution, while only six countries — Australia, Hungary, Israel, Maldives, the US and the UK — voted against the resolution.
London continued to publicly ignore the international law for 3 years, when finally in November 2022, James Cleverly, the then UK foreign secretary announced the opening of negotiations with Port Louis over the future of the archipelago.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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Nice story. Especially the Maldives angle. So, in 2019, was it the Solih govt. to vote against the resolution in UNGA against Mauritius or indirectly against India or was it the PPP govt under Yameen ?
Mauritius should sell Diego Garcia to the US government for a very generous price. The original inhabitants should also be offered fair compensation.