CHINA LOOKING FOR NAVAL BASES NEAR DIEGO GARCIA

There is worry that Mauritius may give China a part of the Chagos islands to get its debt to that country written off. This poses a threat to both India and the US. The island of Diego Garcia in the region is a US military facility.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

On 3 November, James Cleverly, United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, announced that following a meeting between the then UK Prime Minister (Liz Truss) and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth at the UN General Assembly meet in September, the two countries decided to begin negotiations to hand over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) or Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius.

Cleverly said that any agreement between the two countries would not impact the operation of the joint UK/US military base at Diego Garcia, which was a part of the BIOT, while adding that the UK recognised the interests of the US and India (in the region) and it would keep them informed of the course of progress. According to Cleverly, an agreement between Britain and Mauritius is likely to be reached by early next year.

The underlying common connection that binds India and the United States to these islands, something which Cleverly chose to describe as “interests”, is the threat posed by China, which is looking to establish military bases in different parts of the region. These bases can be used, when the need arises, to launch offensive and defensive manoeuvres or simply as listening posts.

As per the official data, the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) consists of 58 islands, sometimes referred to as the “Chagos Archipelago”, which covers around 640,000 square km of ocean. The islands have a land area of 60 square km and 698 km of coastline. Diego Garcia, the largest and most southerly island, is 44 square km in area.