Mauritius wants to rethink a deal with the UK over remote islands housing a key US base

FILE – This image realeased by the U.S. Navy shows an aerial view of Diego Garcia. (U.S. Navy via AP, File)
LONDON – The British government said Wednesday it still plans to hand over a contested Indian Ocean archipelago, which is home to a strategically important military base, to Mauritius, after that country’s new leader backed away from the contentious deal.
The U.K. and Mauritius announced an agreement in October to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, a chain of more than 60 islands just south of the equator off the tip of India. Under the deal, the U.K.-U.S. naval and bomber base on the largest of the islands, Diego Garcia, would remain under U.K. control for at least 99 years.
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When it made the announcement, Britain’s Labour Party government said it was finalizing details of a treaty with the Mauritian government. Since then, voters in Mauritius ousted the government that made the deal, replacing it with one led by Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam.
Ramgoolam said he was reopening negotiations because the draft deal “would not produce the benefits that the nation could expect from such an agreement.” He told lawmakers in Mauritius’ parliament on Tuesday that his government “is still willing to conclude an agreement with the United Kingdom