Negotiations Over Chagos Islands Hit a Critical Point

The British government has issued a statement after another round of negotiations between the UK and Mauritius over the draft deal that had been agreed between the two countries over the Chagos Island military base in the Indian Ocean. A change of government in Mauritius following a general election last November derailed the provisional agreement.

At stake is not the continued US use of the base, more a concern that the changes in sovereignty in the agreement would undermine its operational effectiveness – for example, by limiting the types of munitions that could be stored at the base, or by restricting the types of operations which could be mounted from the base. Mauritius is a member of the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, and might also object to the use of the Diego Gar…