The UK has agreed to transfer sovereignty of the largely uninhabited Chagos archipelago to Mauritius. The islands have been known as the British Indian Ocean Territory since being administratively detached in 1965 from what was then the colony of Mauritius.

The British government unsurprisingly wants to draw a line under that sorry history. On October 3rd it announced plans to cede sovereignty over the islands to Mauritius (see Britain section). But the deal is a mistake. It mishandles Britain’s historical obligations and the West’s future military needs in favour of a debatable territorial claim.

The deal that’s been announced is a rare win-win moment in international relations, with all the relevant actors able to claim a meaningful victory.

In 1965, as part of the decolonisation process, the UK separated the islands from Mauritius, creating a new colony. From 1968 (when Mauritius gained independence), the UK expelled Chagossians from the islands to pave the way for a US military base it agreed on in 1966.

The agreement ends decades of dispute over Britain’s last African colony, from which thousands of people were forcibly evicted, while maintaining a key U.S.-British military base there.

After years of legal wrangling and negotiations, Britain said it would surrender sovereignty of the archipelago in the Indian Ocean.

After decades of legal battles, Britain has agreed to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a former colony. The remote Indian Ocean archipelago will continue to host a US military base, but Chagossians exiled to make way for the base in the 1960s and 70s are questioning whether the deal can truly rectify past wrongs.