ANTANANARIVO, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Mauritius will "spare no effort" to reclaim sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, a senior official said on Saturday.
Mauritian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade Dhananjay Ramful made the remarks during the ninth Indian Ocean Conference held on Saturday in Port Louis, the capital of the island country in the Indian Ocean.
"We will spare no effort to seek any diplomatic or legal avenue to complete the decolonization process in this part of the Indian Ocean," he said.
Mauritius' sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago is "a matter of justice," Ramful said, adding that it is also "a reaffirmation of the outcome after more than 50 years of struggle" grounded in international law.
The British government stated earlier that it has shelved legislation to ratify a deal to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius after the United States withdrew its backing for the agreement.
The Chagos Archipelago was separated from Mauritius in 1965, when the country was still a British colony. Britain leased Diego Garcia, the largest island in the archipelago, to the United States as a joint U.S.-British military facility the following year, leading to the displacement of thousands of residents from their homes.
On May 22, 2025, Britain and Mauritius signed a deal that formally ceded British control of the Chagos Archipelago to the Mauritian government. Under the terms of the agreement, Mauritius would lease the Diego Garcia military base back to Britain and the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly opposed Britain's transfer of sovereignty over the archipelago. ■