To strengthen strategic presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) amid Chinese maritime activities, India will establish a satellite tracking and communication station in Mauritius near Diego Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago.
- India and Mauritius have signed a historic agreement to establish a satellite tracking and communication station near Diego Garcia, the US-British military base in the Chagos Archipelago.
- This step increases India’s strategic presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) amid increasing Chinese maritime activities.
- This agreement, signed during Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam’s visit to India, enables India to track and receive data from its satellites and launch vehicles using this facility.
- This station will not only help track and receive data from satellites but will also become a strategic asset for India. Both sides also renewed an agreement for India’s support for hydrographic surveys in Mauritius’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
- Prime Minister Modi called this step a “historic milestone” and reaffirmed India’s commitment towards anti-colonialism and regional cooperation.
Port Louis
- Earlier this year, New Delhi and Port Louis agreed on enhanced use.
- During his visit to Mauritius, Mauritius President Dharambeer Gokhool honored Mr. Modi with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Star for his outstanding contribution to the India-Mauritius partnership.
- Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Public Service and Innovation was inaugurated in Mauritius. It will function as a center for learning, research and public service.
Why are Chagos and Diego Garcia important
- Chagos Archipelago is strategically located between East Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Diego Garcia has a major US-British naval and air base, which has been used in operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Gulf.
Chagos Archipelago
- Originally part of Mauritius. However, three years before Mauritius gained independence from British colonial rule, London separated this archipelago in 1965.
- Britain leased the largest island Diego Garcia to the United States for the construction and operation of a joint British-American military base.
- In 2019, the International Court of Justice ruled that Britain’s control over the Chagos Archipelago was illegal and the archipelago should be returned to Mauritius. Britain agreed in October 2024 to return the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius.
- The Mauritius-UK agreement was delayed due to concerns in Washington D.C. over China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean. Finally, London and Port Louis signed the transfer agreement on 22 May 2025, with the condition that Diego Garcia Island will be leased back to Britain for at least 99 years, so that the British-American joint military base can continue.
