Chagos Archipelago:
The external affairs minister said that India will continue supporting Mauritius on the issue of the Chagos Archipelago in line with its stand on decolonization.
- Chagos Archipelago is an island group located in the central Indian Ocean and is about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) south of the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent.
- It is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom that was established on November 8, 1965.
- Its key islands include the Diego Garcia atoll, Danger Island, Egmont Islands, Eagle Islands, Nelsons Island, Peros Banhos atoll. (Diego Garcia island, which houses a strategic US military base).
- It experiences a tropical marine climate with high temperatures and elevated humidity levels. The island’s climate is heavily moderated by the trade winds which blow over the islands.
- The Chagos dispute centres around the archipelago in the Indian Ocean, which Britain claimed along with Mauritius in 1814.
