British Indian Ocean Territory

In November 1965, the United Kingdom created a new colony, the British Indian Ocean Territory, from three island groups (Aldabra, Farquhar, and Des Roches) and the Chagos Archipelago (formerly a dependency of Mauritius). Aldabra, Farquhar, and Des Roches became part of independent Seychelles in 1976.

The chief island of the Chagos Archipelago is Diego Garcia, on which the United States maintains a naval base under an agreement with the British. The expressed intent of the United States to expand its naval base in order to strengthen the US military presence in the Indian Ocean and thereby secure the oil routes from the Persian Gulf was a sensitive international question in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The Chagos Archipelago is located at 6°S and 72°E and covers a total area of 54,400 sq km (21,000 sq mi), although the land area is...