Today, Morgan, Matt, Amy, and Jeffrey discuss the historic handover of sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Backed by the White House, the United Kingdom agreed to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands after 13 rounds of negotiations over the former African colony. Importantly, the UK will retain control of the UK-US Diego Garcia military base for an initial period of 99 years. However, critics argue this move is a victory for Chinese interests in the Indo-Pacific.

What are the impacts of this handover on U.S. interests in the region? Will this handover set a precedent in the use of lawfare by our adversaries? How will future administrations handle the soft and hard power changes as a result of this handover?

Check out the answers to these questions and more in this episode of Fault Lines.

Check out the sources that helped shape our expert's discussion!

https://www.politico.eu/article/republicans-us-washington-chagos-islands-deal-china-security/

https://www.newsweek.com/diego-garcia-news-uk-mauritius-chagos-islands-agreement-us-base-indian-ocean-1963650

https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/10/09/uk-chagos-islands-mauritius-diego-garcia-last-colony/

https://breakingdefense.com/2024/10/despite-hold-on-diego-garcia-uks-move-to-return-chago-islands-sparks-security-concerns/

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