Mauritius launches India-funded air strip on Agalega, denies it will be used as military base
- An investigation by news broadcaster Al Jazeera in 2021 said India was building a secret naval base on Agalega, much to the chagrin of its 300 inhabitants
- The report of a base raised fears of a repeat of the 1965 decision by the UK to separate the Chagos Islands from Mauritius and set up a military base with the US
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Mauritius inaugurated on Thursday an Indian-financed air strip and jetty on the island of Agalega, but denied the remote islet would be used for military purposes.
An investigation by news broadcaster Al Jazeera in 2021 said India was building a secret naval base on Agalega, much to the chagrin of its approximately 300 inhabitants.
“There has never been a project to turn Agalega into a military base,” Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said.
Jugnauth said the infrastructures would help the Indian Ocean island modernise and strengthen its security.
“They will strengthen the fight against drugs, human trafficking and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and will enable emergency response,” he said, calling it a dream that had turned into reality.
An archipelago of four islands, Mauritius also includes Saint-Brandon and Rodrigues, which has had an autonomous status since 2001.
India steps up maritime role in Asia-Pacific as US, China conduct exercises
The decades-old move has sparked protests by Chagossians, who accuse Britain of carrying out an “illegal occupation” and barring them from their homeland.
Britain insists the islands belong to London and has renewed a lease agreement with the United States to use Diego Garcia until 2036.
Diego Garcia’s air and sea bases played a strategic role during the Cold War and during the war in Afghanistan.
