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.
