India supports Mauritius in International Court of Justice (ICJ) on issue of de-colonisation of Chagos Archipelago

The Chagos Archipelago (or Chagos Islands) is a group of 7 atolls consists of more than 60 individual tropical islands in the Indian Ocean about 500 km south of the Maldives archipelago. The sovereignty over the Islands is disputed between Mauritius and the United Kingdom (UK). Recently, it is in news because India has supported Mauritius in International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the issue of de-colonisation of the Chagos Archipelago, which is home to Diego Garcia — the key military base of the U.K. and the U.S. in the Indian Ocean. India told ICJ that the historical survey of facts indicates that the Chagos Archipelago throughout the pre- and post-colonial era has been part of the Mauritian territory. These islands came under the colonial administration of the UK as part of Mauritian territory. Of the 22 countries which are giving their legal opinion at ICJ, the UK is supported by the US, Australia and Israel, while Mauritius is being supported by 17 countries, including India.