Diego Garcia serves as America's unassailable aerial ship.

Diego Garcia serves as America's unassailable aircraft carrier.

For over half a decade, Great Britain has persistently refused to relinquish its final colony in the Indian Ocean. Mauritius persistently advocates for the possession of the Chagos archipelago and has garnered support from the highest legal institution. The United States, as the leader of the archipelago's leaseholder, also has an interest in the matter. Curiously, China, the mammoth in the room?

Diego Garcia, the smallest island of the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean, holds the reputation of being larger than Norderney. The 60 islands are scattered across 7 atolls and exist in isolation. The closest island groups, the Maldives and the Seychelles, are located 750 kilometers and 1800 kilometers away from the atoll, respectively. Unlike their tropical paradise counterparts, Diego Garcia is a significant component in the Indian Ocean's military strategy. It is commonly known as America's "unsinkable aircraft carrier".

According to international law, Diego Garcia is the property of Mauritius, an island state lying approximately 2000 kilometers to the southwest. Nevertheless, London retains control over Diego Garcia, a remnant of colonial times. In 1968, Mauritius was granted independence, but the Chagos archipelago, including Diego Garcia, was linguistically disassociated from Mauritius 3 years prior to independence. The Chagos archipelago is still "officially" designated as the "British Indian Ocean Territory" (BOT).

The Chagossians are still campaigning for recognition of their rights. The descendants of previous inhabitants are desperate to reclaim their homeland. Around 1000 islanders were transcribed from the atolls in the 1960s and forced to live with abject poverty, thousands of kilometers away from their ancestral homes.

Warplanes, AWACS, and submarines stationed on the island

Yet, the principal island of the archipelago has developed significantly. This transformation occurred as London leased the archipelago to the USA immediately after forcibly detaching it from Mauritius in the 1960s - for a mere $14 million. The inhabitants of the archipelago suffered forced relocation to Mauritius, the Seychelles, and Great Britain.

Subsequently, the USA transformed the island into a military and intelligence base. At present, the only residents of Diego Garcia are American soldiers. Diplomatically, former residents of the archipelago were granted their first opportunity to revisit their homeland in half a century in February 2022.

The military significance of Diego Garcia becomes evident when examined from a global perspective: the archipelago's position is highly advantageous - located between Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Arabian Peninsula. Logically, the Americans expanded the initial 50-year lease in 2016 for an additional 20 years. Diego Garcia is now a significant foreign base for the US, home to long-range bombers, AWACS reconnaissance aircraft, and submarines.

The American military utilized Diego Garcia during the Gulf War in the 1990s; military aircraft were launched from its 3600-meter-long runway. At the turn of the 21st century, the bombers for the attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan were mobilized from Diego Garcia. In 2002 and 2003, terror suspects were apprehended and tortured in the Diego Garcia prison.

The Hague expresses its legal opinion in support of Mauritius

For the Americans, the Chagos Archipelago's location is more critical than ever. From this base, US soldiers can closely monitor China's rising military activities in the Indo-Pacific region. However, the extent to which this will be possible remains questionable: in 2019, the International Court of Justice in The Hague opined that Great Britain had unfairly claimed the Chagos archipelago and that it ought to be considered a possession of Mauritius under international law. Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, the President of the International Court of Justice at the time, elucidated that "the process of decolonization of Mauritius was not legally fulfilled." "The United Kingdom is obliged to end its management of the Chagos Archipelago as soon as possible to allow Mauritius to complete the territorial decolonization process in accordance with the right of peoples to self-determination."

The United Nations agreed with the court's assessment and requested that London transfer the archipelago to Mauritius.

Is China intrigued?

Nevertheless, little has transpired since The Hague's legal advisement. Still, five years later, the British have not returned the archipelago to their previous colonial authority, viewing the assessment of the International Court of Justice as a non-binding, consultative opinion. A 2021 decision by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea failed to impact the situation. This body also confirmed Mauritius' rightful possession of the Chagos Archipelago, but no concrete actions have been initiated by the British to return the island.

London stands firm on the belief that Mauritius has never exercised sovereignty over Diego Garcia and other islands in the Chagos archipelago, making it impossible for them to make any claims to ownership. A Tory politician even cautioned that Mauritius could potentially sell the archipelago to China at an alarmingly high price, a prospect that would worry the West and India. Last year, "Süddeutsche Zeitung" reported that Mauritius might consider striking a deal with Beijing to help pay off its debts. But despite Mauritius' and China's close relationship, no solid evidence has emerged suggesting such a possibility.

Mauritius is keen on taking back control of the Chagos archipelago, but maintains that it's possible for the Americans to continue leasing Diego Garcia. Negotiations surrounding a new 99-year lease are underway, which would enable the US to maintain its military base there. The UN's Mauritius ambassador stated during an interview with Nikkei Asia in 2020 that they're cognizant of the US's attachment to Diego Garcia. He also expressed his understanding of the base's role in protecting oil routes and contributing to security in the Indo-Pacific region. A bipartisan consensus exists in Mauritius, guaranteeing that the US won't be forced out.