Every day, look at essential events, concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena to hone your knowledge. This is your knowledge nugget today.
Knowledge Nuggets: Chagos Archipelago and Diego Garcia
subject: International Relations and Geography
(Relatedness: The islands in the news are important as UPSC has previously asked about locations and conflict islands. Chagos Archipelago and Diego Garcia retain geopolitical and environmental importance, and are important for topics such as international relations and strategic locations. )
Why in the news?
On Friday, British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer told Maurishan’s counterpart Navin Ramgoolam that “strong protections” include “Maligni influence” on the US military base in Diego Garcia, according to a Downing Street statement. “He said he wanted to do so.
Important takeouts:
1. The Chagos Islands, consisting of about 58 islands, are located about 500 km south of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. These islands remained uninhabited until the late 18th century, when the French brought in enslaved workers from Africa and India to tackle the newly established coconut plantation. In 1814, under the Treaty of Paris, France handed over Mauritius to the British.
Map showing the Chagos Islands.
2. The UK separated the Chagos Islands from Mauritius in 1965. Mauritius was a former colony that became independent three years later, creating the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). The British government has given Mauritius a £3 million grant over the “segregation” of the Chagos Archipelago.
3. Last October, the UK reached an agreement to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, while maintaining control of the military base at Diego Garcia under the 1999 lease.
Diego Garcia
1. Diego Garcia is the largest island in the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean. In 1966, the UK signed an agreement with the US, allowing BIOT to meet both countries’ defensive needs. The land was acquired in 1967, and four years later, the plantation in Diego Garcia was closed.
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2. Diego Garcia became a fully operational military base in 1986. An article in the Foreign Policy Journal states: Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is said to have been used as a detention center by the CIA (US Intelligence Agency) since 9/11. ”
“Diego Garcia is the location of joint US-UK military facilities that play a key role in national, regional and global security. This will demonstrate our shared commitment to regional stability. We can support our operations, respond quickly to crisis and counter the most challenging security threats we face.” – Former President Joe Biden said this in October 2024.
3. Diego Garcia in particular is a coral atoll and is a member of the southernmost part of the Chagos Archipelago. It is located 7 degrees south of the equator.
Beyond the Nugget: The island of news
1. Tuvalu: With an average altitude of just 2 m (6.56 feet), Tuvalu has experienced a sea level rise of 15 cm (5.91 inches) over the past 30 years. It is a small Pacific island country located halfway between Hawaii and Australia.
2. St. Martins Island: The ouster of Prime Minister Sheikhasina has attracted the spotlight last year. The island is located in the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal, near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. It is 9 km away from the southern tip of Cox’s Bazaar Teknav Peninsula in Bangladesh. The long island, 7.3 km long, is mostly flat, at an average altitude of 3.6 meters above sea level. It is Bangladesh’s only coral island. It has coral reefs ranging from 10-15km to West Northwest, and is also a breeding ground for sea turtles. The island has a permanent population of around 10,000 people.
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3. Rottnest Island: Three people are seriously injured and three others remain missing after crashing into the Indian Ocean from Australia’s tourist island. Seven people were in the Cessna 208 Caravan, only one of them was rescued unharmed after the crash on Rottnest Island.
4. Ramley Island: Air strikes by Myanmar’s military in a village under the control of an armed ethnic minority group have killed around 40 people and wounded at least 20 people. The attack occurred in the village of Kyokuni Mo on Ramley Island, an area controlled by the Arakan military ethnic forces in western Rakhine Province.
5. Kuril Island: Tokyo and Moscow have been trapped in conflict over the Kuril Islands for decades. The Kuril Islands divide the Okotsk Sea from the North Pacific Ocean, crossing from the northeast to northeast of Japan, and into the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia.
6. Easter Island: Easter Island, the most remote island on earth, is 3,700 km from the coast of the Chilean continent in the Pacific Ocean and has an area of 16,628 hectares.
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7. Tristan da Cunha: One of the world’s most remotely populated islands, Tristan da Cunha is located in the heart of the Atlantic Ocean with around 250 permanent residents.
(Source: British Sovereignty over Mauritius in the Chagos Islands, British Treaty of Mauritius, Chagos Archipelago, Diego Garcia, St. Martins Island, Rottnest Island, Rumley Island))
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