An agreement made in October between British imperialism and the island nation of Mauritius over a U.S. military base in the Indian Ocean exposes how the U.S. capitalist class depends on military aggression to maintain a decaying U.S. hegemony worldwide.
Diego Garcia, a small island in the Indian Ocean, plays a big role as a base for U.S. bombers from West to Southeast Asia.
U.S. imperialist hegemony is reliant on an intricate global network of military bases, which are jumping-off points for imperialist wars and occupations, and as logistics hubs for the entire U.S. military supply chain. Their geographic spread allows for rapid deployments worldwide. This base system continues to expand, as evidenced by the current encirclement of China.
A vital base for U.S. geostrategy is Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago. Located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Diego Garcia has housed
B-1 and B-2 bombers and B-52 Stratofortress bombers, which were used in Iraq and Afghanistan during the U.S. wars of aggression. The island was an early testing ground for drone technology.
On world maps the Chagos Islands are named, “British Indian Ocean Territory” (BIOT), giving no indication that Diego Garcia is a U.S. base. The French first colonized the islands governing them as part of Mauritius in the 18th century, bringing enslaved Africans to the Chagos Islands before ceding them to the British in 1814
Shortly before Mauritian independence in 1968, the British split Chagos from Mauritius to maintain its control over the archipelago under the newly created BIOT. (Al Jazeera, Oct. 3)
Chagossians demand reparations
Britain granted a 50-year lease of Diego Garcia to the U.S. in 1966 (which was renewed in 2016) in exchange for a major discount on Polaris missile imports. (Al Jazeera) At U.S. request, the British government forcibly exiled the thousands of Chagossians living on the islands to nearby Mauritius and Seychelles to make way for the base. Ever since this displacement, the Chagossian people have waged a struggle for reparations from the British government and the right to return to their homelands.
Marking shows location of British-Indian Ocean Territory and Diego Garcia, site of U.S. air bomber base.
In October 2024 British Prime Minister Keith Starmer’s government agreed to hand sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius. Britain’s condition: the U.S. lease be extended by 99 years.
Chagossian activists have had mixed reactions to this deal. They criticized their exclusion from the discussion. While they have finally won the right to return to the other islands of Chagos, they are still barred from Diego Garcia.
British imperialism renew Indian Ocean bombing base.
Some Chagossians want full independence, calling for their right to self-determination as Indigenous people.
This small victory for the people of Chagos comes at the cost of continued U.S. military operations in the Indian Ocean. Given its location, Diego Garcia is a crucial base for U.S. imperialist interests. It forms part of a geographical axis of Indo-Pacific bases that encircle the current primary focuses of U.S. aggression: China and West Asia.
Neither Britain, a U.S. junior partner, nor the U.S. should be applauded for ceding territory to Mauritius nor allowing Chagossians to return to their lands. The agreement is a concession to Chagossians, but a half-measure that fails to grant the Chagossian people their full demands. Meanwhile, it secures continued U.S. military operations in a key region affected by U.S. aggression.
It was the U.S. government in the first place that requested that the British evict thousands of Chagossians nearly 60 years ago. British Foreign Minister David Lammy said, “Today’s agreement secures this vital military base for the future.” (Al Jazeera)
Securing Diego Garcia for joint U.S.-British interests was the goal behind this decision, not humanitarian goals for the Chagossians. Illustrating the latter, for five years, Britain ignored an International Court of Justice ruling that granted Mauritius sovereignty.