Overcoming the Diego Garcia Stalemate

During his 2017 visit to India as British foreign secretary, Boris Johnson failed to achieve a key diplomatic goal. Johnson was unable to convince India’s government to restrain its ally Mauritius from launching a diplomatic offensive against Britain over sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago. Among its islands, Johnson and the U.K. government were most concerned about Diego Garcia, which is leased to the United States as a base for significant military and intelligence capabilities. India stood with Mauritius during all the diplomatic episodes that followed, including at the U.N. General Assembly and the International Court of Justice. The international court’s opinion on the matter was unfavorable to the United Kingdom and the U.N. General Assembly followed it by calling for a swift end to U.K. control of the islands.