Mauritians Want to Reclaim the Chagos Islands. President Biden Should Support Them…

It is high time that the United States join this overwhelming international
consensus and support the decolonization of Chagos.
 “ …there is a future for Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia in a
world without continued British colonialism.”
Only by acknowledging Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos, including
Diego Garcia, can the United States ensure that its military base is placed
on a sustainable – and legal – footing.
By Peter Harris*
The United States is committed to supporting a rules-based order in the Indo-
Pacific. Upholding the rule of international law is a core U.S. interest, especially
when it comes to governance of the “seas, skies, and other shared domains.”
That, at least, is the central claim put forward in President Joe Biden’s new
Indo-Pacific strategy document.
How, then, does the Pentagon justify its most important Indian Ocean base
being located inside an illegal British colony?
The base in question is the military installation on Diego Garcia, the largest
island of the Chagos Archipelago in the central Indian Ocean. The colony is the
British Indian Ocean Territory, which is what the British government has called
the Chagos Islands since detaching them from its Crown Colony of Mauritius in
1965.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion that the
colonial-era separation of Chagos from Mauritius was a violation of
international law. The implication is that Mauritius should still be whole today,
and that the British government has illegally occupied the Chagos Islands ever
since Mauritian independence.
Last year, an international court constituted to decide a maritime boundary issue
between Mauritius and the Maldives concurred, holding (in a decision binding
upon Port Louis and Mahé) that the entire Chagos Archipelago should be
considered an integral part of Mauritius.
An overwhelming majority of the world’s governments agree with this growing
body of international case law: that Mauritius is still suffering the indignity of
colonization in the 21st century, and that Britain should withdraw from the
Chagos Islands without delay.

It is high time that the United States join this overwhelming international
consensus and support the decolonization of Chagos.
Officials in Washington will have noticed the raising of Mauritian flags this
week on the “Outer” Chagos islands of Peros Banhos and Salomon, around 100
miles north of Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia. These banners –
provocations meant to assert Mauritian sovereignty – were planted by members
of a visiting group including international lawyers, Mauritian diplomats,
journalists, and indigenous Chagos Islanders.
Why did the British government not intervene to stop this delegation, which
telegraphed its arrival in advance, from asserting the Mauritian claim to the
Chagos Islands? Why did London instead give assurances that it would allow
the visiting party to conduct its business uninterrupted?
The answer is that Britain’s hands were tied. London would have been
enormously embarrassed by any attempt to turn back or detain a vessel that
counted the sitting Mauritian ambassador to the United Nations among its
passengers. Even worse, London might have faced the prospect of having to
defend the legality of its actions in domestic or international courts.
Those charged with implementing the United States’ Indo-Pacific strategy
should not underestimate the seriousness of any of this. How many more
unfettered Mauritian visits to Chagos will the British government tolerate in the
name of avoiding unflattering news headlines? London cannot be considered an
effective partner in governing the Chagos Islands if it does not have the
effective authority to limit who visits the archipelago.
Of course, it should not come as any surprise that illegally occupying someone
else’s sovereign territory comes with strings attached. As Biden’s own Indo-
Pacific strategy states, “Our vital interests and those of our closest partners
require a free and open Indo-Pacific, where governments can make their own
sovereign choices, consistent with their obligations under international law; and
where seas, skies, and other shared domains are lawfully governed.”
All of this is correct – including as it relates to the Chagos Islands. It truly is in
the best interests of the United States to abide by international law, and to have
its allies and partners do the same.
This is why the time has come for the United States to politely inform London
that its services as landlord of the Chagos Islands are no longer required. Only
by acknowledging Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos group, including
Diego Garcia, can the United States ensure that its military base is placed on a
sustainable – and legal – footing.

Nobody disputes that the military base on Diego Garcia is an important strategic
asset, especially in the context of so-called “great power competition” with
China. But there is a future for Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia in a world
without continued British colonialism.
Indeed, the government of Mauritius has offered the United States a 99-year
lease to govern its future access to Diego Garcia. Biden should instruct his
advisers to take “yes” for an answer.
Supporting the decolonization of the Chagos Islands is the only policy
compatible with the United States’ strong interest in a rules-based order for the
Indo-Pacific. Such a move would allow the United States to uphold
international law, cement an important relationship with a democratic Indian
Ocean state, and maintain the operability of a critical military base.
It would also permit officials in London to breathe a sigh of relief at no longer
having to defend the indefensible – no small favor to a long-suffering friend.

• Peter Harris is an associate professor of political science at Colorado
  State University.

Posted by Minority Voice on Feb 18 2022. Filed under Actualités, Featured, Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry