The Chagos Archipelago is a disputed territory between ______.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Correct Answer
United Kingdom and Mauritius
Explanation
The Chagos Archipelago is an island group in the central Indian Ocean that has long been the subject of a major territorial dispute between the United Kingdom and Mauritius. Historically, the archipelago was administered by the British as a dependency of Mauritius. However, in 1965, three years before granting independence to Mauritius, the UK detached the Chagos Islands to form the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). The UK then forcibly evicted the local population (the Chagossians) to clear the largest island, Diego Garcia, for a joint strategic military base with the United States. Mauritius continuously claimed that the separation violated international law and UN resolutions against breaking up colonial territories prior to independence.
Following decades of diplomatic pressure and an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in favor of Mauritius, the two nations reached a historic breakthrough. In May 2025, the UK and Mauritius formally signed a bilateral treaty transferring full sovereignty of the entire Chagos Archipelago back to Mauritius, completing its decolonization process while granting the UK and US a 99-year lease to keep operating the military base on Diego Garcia.
Key Points
The United Nations General Assembly and the International Court of Justice both declared the British occupation of the Chagos Islands unlawful, urging the complete return of the territory to Mauritius.
Diego Garcia, the largest and most critical atoll in the archipelago, hosts a highly strategic naval and air military facility used heavily by US and UK armed forces.
The dispute heavily involved the fundamental human rights of the native Chagossians, who were displaced in the 1960s and 1970s and granted resettlement rights to the outer islands under the new 2025 treaty framework.
Important Questions and Answers
Question: What is the name of the largest atoll in the Chagos Archipelago that hosts a major US-UK military base?
Answer: Diego Garcia is the largest atoll and hosts the strategic military base.
Question: Under what administrative name did the United Kingdom govern the Chagos Archipelago prior to the sovereignty transfer agreement?
Answer: It was governed as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).