A
delegation from Mauritius set sail Tuesday to the Chagos Islands to press the
country’s claim for the strategically important Indian Ocean archipelago, which
is also claimed by Britain and is home to an American military base.

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It
is the first time Mauritius has embarked upon an expedition to the islands
without seeking the permission of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Pravind
Jugnauth said in a statement, adding it is a “concrete step” in “exercising its
sovereignty and sovereign rights in relation to the Chagos Archipelago.”

Those
rights were strengthened in 2019 by a non-binding opinion from the
International Criminal Court, which said that Britain had unlawfully carved up
Mauritius, an archipelago nation whose main island is some 2,000 kilometres
(1,200 miles) off the southeast coast of Africa. The Chagos islands were a part
of Mauritius until Britain separated them a few years before Mauritius became
independent from British colonial rule in 1968.

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The
United Nations General Assembly followed that opinion with a resolution two
months later demanding that Britain end its “colonial administration” of the
Chagos Islands, which include the U.S. military base on Diego Garcia, and
return them to Mauritius. Even Pope Francis weighed in, saying that Britain
should obey the U.N. resolution.

Thus
far, however, Britain, which calls the archipelago a “British Indian Ocean
Territory,” has refused to abide by the non-binding decisions. It has argued
that the Chagos archipelago has been under its sovereignty since 1814 and that
its continued presence there is strategically important.

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Britain’s
Foreign Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the
current expedition.

In
his statement, Jugnauth recalled the ICJ ruling and said that “continued
administration of the Chagos archipelago by the United Kingdom constituted a
wrongful act.” His office did not immediately respond to an email seeking
further comment.

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Jugnauth
has repeatedly said that ending the British administration, however, would have
no implications for the U.S. military base at Diego Garcia, which he has said
Mauritius is committed to maintaining.

Britain
sealed a deal in 1966 allowing the U.S. to use Diego Garcia for defence
purposes. The United States maintains a base there for aircraft and ships and
has backed Britain in the legal dispute with Mauritius.

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Britain
evicted about 2,000 people from the Chagos archipelago in the 1960s and 1970s
so the U.S. military could build its base. Many resettled in Britain and have
fought in courts there to return to the islands.

Jugnauth
in 2019 told the U.N. General Assembly their forcible eviction “remains a very
dark episode of human history akin to a crime against humanity.”

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The
vessel commissioned by Mauritius, Bleu de Nîmes, sailed Tuesday from Seychelles
to the Chagos archipelago, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of Maldives
in the Indian Ocean.

Onboard
for the 15-day journey is Mauritius’ permanent representative to the U.N., as
well as legal advisers and others who planned to undertake a scientific survey
at the Blenheim Reef, a partially submerged atoll in the northeastern part of
the archipelago.

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Jugnauth
said the survey results would be part of Mauritius’ submissions for a case being
heard by the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which
was brought by Maldives, which supports Britain’s sovereignty claim.

Jugnauth
said in his statement that he would not accompany others on the current voyage,
but would personally visit the islands in a separate voyage.