The deal signed last month after long-running negotiations returns sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius, but will see Britain lease back the military site on Diego Garcia, the largest of the ...

As a result of American upgrades in the1970s, the base at Diego Garcia includes two 12,000-foot runways, designed to support long-range heavy bomber operations.

Starmer said the deal to secure the U.K.-U.S. military base in Diego Garcia — to be leased for more than $100 million a year — is vital for Britain's defense, intelligence and national security.

Diego Garcia served as a launch pad for U.S. bombers during the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. But Mauritius has mounted a concerted international push in recent years to ...

Diego Garcia, located in the Indian Ocean, was once a British Protectorate. However, in a deeply regrettable move, the British government handed over this land to the United States in the late 1960s.

While Diego Garcia may be out-of-reach, the Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain is not, nor are U.S. forces at the Al-Udeid Airbase in Qatar.

Under a clandestine plan, the people on Diego Garcia were forcibly removed. The British government then divided the Chagos Archipelago, splitting it off from the island of Mauritius to form a new ...

Diego Garcia Is Too Important for the US Military to Lose. The Indian Ocean archipelago is a key hub for strategic operations along with its allies, especially in the face of global security threats.

A US Air Force B-1B Lancer taking off from Diego Garcia as part of Operation Enduring Freedom during October 2001 [Photo: enior Airman Rebeca M. Luquin, U.S. Air Force]. Tessa Gregory, a lawyer at ...