London/New Delhi, May 22: Terming it as a "milestone achievement" and a "positive development for the region", India on Thursday welcomed the signing of the treaty between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Mauritius on the return of Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia.

"India has consistently supported Mauritius's legitimate claim over the Chagos Archipelago in keeping with its principled position on decolonization, respect for sovereignty, and the territorial integrity of nations. As a steadfast and longstanding partner of Mauritius, India remains committed to working closely with Mauritius and other like-minded countries to strengthen maritime security and regional stability and ensure peace and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region," read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

"The formal resolution of the longstanding Chagos dispute through this bilateral treaty is a milestone achievement and a positive development for the region. This is further to the understanding between the two sides reached in October 2024, and marks the culmination of the process of decolonization of Mauritius in the spirit of international law and rules-based order," it stated.

The United Kingdom on Thursday announced that it has signed a landmark agreement with Mauritius to secure the future of the strategically critical UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, one of our most significant contributions to the transatlantic defence and security partnership.

It said that all 'Five Eyes' partners – the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand – back the agreement, "along with India", in recognising the critical role Diego Garcia plays in upholding global stability and deterring adversaries.

The base has played a vital role in defending the UK and its allies for over 50 years. This new deal ensures its continued operation for at least the next century, protecting capabilities essential to UK intelligence and counter-terrorism, stated the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

"The base plays a key role in operations that support UK forces and our allies across the Middle East, East Africa and South Asia. Its deep-water port, airfield, and advanced communications and surveillance capabilities give the UK and its allies crucial strategic capabilities, which have played a key role in missions to disrupt high-value terrorists, including Islamic State threats to the UK," read a statement issued by the government led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

"The legal necessity of this deal has been recognised by successive governments. The previous government started these negotiations over two years ago, and they held 11 out of the 13 rounds of talks that underpin the deal, that this government has concluded. The base is a cornerstone of the Government's Plan for Change, with operations there deterring threats to our nation and protecting our economic security," read the statement.

Diego Garcia is the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago, located in the central Indian Ocean. The joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia has a strategic location which makes it vital to UK and US power projection in the Indian Ocean and beyond. The base provides a unique shared platform with irreplaceable security capabilities that enable a UK and US military presence across the Middle East, Indo-Pacific and Africa.

--IANS

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