Mauritius erected its flag on the disputed Chagos Islands, a direct challenge to British sovereignty claims.
Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth hailed the move as a “historic moment.”
“The message I wish to give out to the world, as the state with sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago, is that we will ensure a wise stewardship of its territory — over its maritime security, conservation of the marine environment and human rights, notably the return of those of Chagossian origin,” he said per Associated Press.
The British authorities forcibly expelled as many as 2,000 Chagos islanders to other territories of the archipelago nation in the 1960s and 70s so the U.S. military could build an airbase on Diego Garcia.
Britain still refers to the archipelago as a “British Indian Ocean Territory.”
Several Mauritian survey teams and two Swedish marine experts set off to measure Blenheim Reef to gather vital evidence for an impending case at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
Mauritius aims to prove its rights to the Chagos Archipelago. In 2019, the international tribunal ruled that the U.K. has no legitimate claims over the region. That same year, the United Nations General Assembly told Britain to give up control of the islands.
Mauritius gained independence in 1968.
However, the Brits appear to be dismissive of the tribunal’s findings.
In a statement, Britain’s Foreign Office says it “has no doubt as to our sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory, which we have held continuously since 1814. Mauritius has never held sovereignty over the territory and the U.K. does not recognize its claim.”
