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Ongoing reports and analysis

Rarely does such a tiny island cause such a fuss, but this has certainly been the case with Diego Garcia. Situated in the central Indian Ocean as part of the Chagos archipelago, Diego Garcia is a British-administered atoll claimed by Mauritius. It hosts a sprawling U.S.-British military base with key naval, air, space, communications, and logistics facilities. Throughout much of the Cold War, Diego Garcia served as a critical node to counter Soviet movements across the Indian Ocean and as an enabler to conduct operations in South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and beyond.

After nearly two years of negotiations, London and Port Louis agreed in 2024 to transfer sovereignty over Diego Garcia and the rest of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius, and they formalized the arrangement in May 2025. (The Chagossians remain divided over their homeland’s political future and were largely excluded from the negotiations.) Under the treaty, British and American forces would retain access to their base on Diego Garcia under a 99-year lease from Mauritius, with an option to extend the arrangement for another 40 years.

Rarely does such a tiny island cause such a fuss, but this has certainly been the case with Diego Garcia. Situated in the central Indian Ocean as part of the Chagos archipelago, Diego Garcia is a British-administered atoll claimed by Mauritius. It hosts a sprawling U.S.-British military base with key naval, air, space, communications, and logistics facilities. Throughout much of the Cold War, Diego Garcia served as a critical node to counter Soviet movements across the Indian Ocean and as an enabler to conduct operations in South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and beyond.

After nearly two years of negotiations, London and Port Louis agreed in 2024 to transfer sovereignty over Diego Garcia and........

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