The UK Is Coming to Its Senses About the Chagos Islands

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The Indian Ocean is an arena of strategic competition, not international legal compliance.

Ahead of King Charles III’s state visit to Washington last week, the UK government quietly shelved its agreement to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, while maintaining the lease on the US-UK military base on Diego Garcia Island on April 11. The agreement stemmed from a 2019 International Court of Justice opinion declaring that the United Kingdom’s possession of the Chagos Islands was contrary to international law. 

London’s decision to put the agreement on hold followed President Donald Trump’s revocation of support for the agreement after months of transatlantic debate. In this saga lies a lesson that the UK government is only now learning: the Indian Ocean is an arena of strategic competition, not a matter of obedience to advisory opinions from international courts. 

The events since the beginning of the American-Israeli attacks on Iran have forced the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer to confront uncomfortable realities. Their lack of verbal support and initial refusal to allow the use of UK military bases were out of step with President Trump’s expectations and incurred withering criticism from the White House.

This disagreement added weight to President Trump’s reversal of his support for the Chagos deal in January, which ultimately could not proceed without the White House’s backing.

The UK government’s doctrinaire approach to international law is misaligned with an increasingly competitive global environment. This is no less true in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), where the........

© The National Interest