The archipelago was acquired in the 1960s and a US military base established by displacing the indigenous population to ensure western influence in the region.

In 1965, as part of the decolonisation process, the UK separated the islands from Mauritius, creating a new colony. From 1968 (when Mauritius gained independence), the UK expelled Chagossians from the islands to pave the way for a US military base it agreed on in 1966.

The agreement ends decades of dispute over Britain’s last African colony, from which thousands of people were forcibly evicted, while maintaining a key U.S.-British military base there.

The U.K. has agreed to hand sovereignty of the long-contested Chagos Islands, an archipelago of more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean, to Mauritius, in a deal to secure the future of a strategically important U.

The deal that’s been announced is a rare win-win moment in international relations, with all the relevant actors able to claim a meaningful victory.

After years of legal wrangling and negotiations, Britain said it would surrender sovereignty of the archipelago in the Indian Ocean.

The British government announced last week that it is handing the Chagos Islands to Mauritius under an agreement that will see the American naval and bomber base stay on one of the islands, Diego Garcia.

The Philippines has welcomed the United Kingdom and Mauritius' joint effort to settle their dispute on Chagos Archipelago in a peaceful manner, the way Manila has always wanted to address the South China Sea issue.