US-Mauritius Security Talks on Diego Garcia Base Set for February 23

From February 23-25, the talks will be led by the Department of State's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs with participation from across the US interagency, according to a media note.

"These discussions underscore the continued importance of the Chagos archipelago and the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia to our national security," the statement said.

Officials said the discussions will centre on bilateral security cooperation and the "effective implementation of security arrangements for the base to ensure its long-term, secure operation."

The United States "supports the decision of the United Kingdom to proceed with its agreement with Mauritius concerning the Chagos archipelago," the release said.

Washington also reaffirmed its interest in concluding a separate bilateral agreement with the United Kingdom "to guarantee continued use of basing and other facilities in the Chagos archipelago to advance US national security, as well as security and stability across the Indian Ocean."

The talks come amid a 2025 arrangement between London and Port Louis under which sovereignty of the Chagos Islands - long administered by Britain as the British Indian Ocean Territory - will transfer to Mauritius while preserving the joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia under a leaseback provision.

Diego Garcia is a key logistics, air, and naval hub for US and allied forces. Its location in the central Indian Ocean gives the base strategic reach across the Middle East, South Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific region.

For India and other Indian Ocean littoral states, developments in the archipelago carry strategic weight. The Indian Ocean hosts critical sea lanes of communication linking Asia, Africa and Europe, and remains central to maritime security calculations.

Mauritius has long asserted sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, arguing that the territory was unlawfully separated from it by Britain before independence in 1968. International legal bodies have weighed in on the dispute, adding diplomatic pressure that ultimately led to negotiations between London and Port Louis.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said he had held "very productive discussions with Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the Island of Diego Garcia," describing it as "the site of a major US Military Base, strategically situated in the middle of the Indian Ocean and, therefore, of great importance to the National Security of the United States."

Trump added that he understood the UK-Mauritius arrangement "was the best he could make," but warned that "if the lease deal, sometime in the future, ever falls apart, or anyone threatens or endangers US operations and forces at our base, I retain the right to militarily secure and reinforce the American presence in Diego Garcia."

- IANS