Chagos Islands deal moving forward- discussion between British and Mauritian leader

The Chagos Islands have been a point of contention for the United Kingdom and Mauritius since Mauritian independence. Just before Mauritius gained its independence, Britain removed the Chagos Islands from the crown colony, creating the British Indian Ocean Territory. The native inhabitants of the island, the Chagossians, were expelled from the islands by the British, and they moved to areas such as Mauritius, the Seychelles, and Britain itself. The United States backed British actions and gained a military base on the largest of the Chagos Islands, Diego Garcia. This action has been ruled illegal by the United Nations, and until recently, the British mostly ignored the ruling.

This has changed with the latest British Prime Minister Kier Starmer, who offered to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius on the condition that Britain and the United States would be allowed to keep the base on Diego Garcia. It was promised that the Chagossians would be allowed to return home to all the islands except Diego Garcia. The original deal in October was criticized for not allowing the Chagossians a voice to speak on their own homeland. Months later, Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam finally spoke publicly about the deal, with it being accepted with extra concessions from Britain. He agreed that the base should be allowed on the Chagos but believed that Britain needed to pay more compensation. Even with this, however, the United States has reservations about the return. The United States fears Mauritius will allow Chinese bases in the area, compromising American security. This has however been denied by the Mauritian Prime Minister.