Britain has agreed to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius
The Chagossians seem set to benefit less than China
Few places in the world are quite so remote as the 60 or so islands that make up the Chagos Archipelago. Africa sits 3,000km to the west, Indonesia 3,000km to the east; the nearest large land mass is Sri Lanka, 1,700km to the north-east. More than 50 types of shark live in its pristine reefs. But the archipelago’s main resident is much more lethal: a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island, leased to America by Britain since the 1970s.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Oceans apart”
Britain October 12th 2024
- The story of one NHS operation
- The Sue Gray saga casts doubt on Keir Starmer’s managerial chops
- Britain has agreed to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius
- The biography of a British recycling bag
- Can software help ease Britain’s housing crisis?
- Britain’s obsession with baked beans
- Britain’s last imperialists
From the October 12th 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Britain
Has the Royal Navy become too timid?
A new paper examines how its culture has changed
A plan to reorganise local government in England runs into opposition
Turkeys vote against Christmas
David Lammy’s plan to shake up Britain’s Foreign Office
Diplomats will be tasked with growing the economy and cutting migration
Britain’s government has spooked markets and riled businesses
Tax rises were inevitable. Such a shaky start was not
Labour’s credibility trap
Who can believe Rachel Reeves?