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India is poised to deepen its strategic presence in the Indian Ocean with Mauritius formally reclaiming sovereignty over the Chagos Islands – home to the US-UK Diego Garcia base, the region’s foremost military installation. New Delhi has agreed to assist Mauritius in developing the archipelago, expanding maritime surveillance, and bolstering its ability to manage its newly enlarged Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The announcement came on September 12 in Varanasi, during Mauritian Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam’s first overseas visit since returning to power in 2024. Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged Indian assistance in building surveillance infrastructure, supporting hydrographic surveys, and establishing a satellite tracking station in Mauritius, which will double as a strategic asset for India in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
India will also provide Mauritius with $680 million in economic support, covering healthcare, infrastructure, and maritime security projects. The initiatives underscore Port Louis’ growing reliance on New Delhi for security capacity-building amid rising Chinese activity in the IOR, including illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and the presence of People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels.
The Chagos question reached closure in May 2025 when the UK signed a treaty recognising Mauritian sovereignty while retaining a 99-year lease over Diego Garcia for joint US-UK operations. This settlement ended decades of disputes rooted in the forcible eviction of Chagossians in the 1960s–70s and secured the future of a base critical to Western military projection in the Indo-Pacific.
For India, the shift is geopolitically significant. With Mauritius now assuming sovereign control over the archipelago, New Delhi gains a legitimate entry point into Chagos affairs. While the Diego Garcia base remains under US-UK operational control, the wider Chagos maritime domain – stretching across a vast EEZ – offers India new opportunities for security cooperation, monitoring, and potential logistical access in coordination with Western partners.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri underscored the point: “Mauritius has many more responsibilities now… and India is a preferred partner in providing the resources to meet them.”
The development builds on India’s earlier strategic gains in the region, including the Agaléga Island project, where New Delhi developed an extended runway and jetty to counterbalance Chinese influence. Chagos now adds another layer to this growing Indian Ocean lattice of partnerships, positioning India as a first responder, capacity-builder, and security guarantor for smaller island nations navigating the power rivalries of the IOR.
Also Read: India-Mauritius Strengthen Defence and Strategic Ties
As Prime Minister Modi framed the settlement as “a historic milestone for Mauritius’s sovereignty,” his counterpart Ramgoolam was more candid about the challenges ahead. The three-time Mauritian leader admitted that Port Louis lacks the capacity to patrol its vastly expanded maritime zone, stressing the symbolic importance of planting the Mauritian flag across the Chagos – including Diego Garcia. He revealed that while Britain had offered to provide a vessel for the inaugural visit, “it would be symbolically better if the ship came from India.” The remark underscored how Mauritius views New Delhi not just as a development partner, but as the security guarantor best positioned to balance Chinese activity and reinforce its own sovereignty in the Indian Ocean.
Ravi Shankar
Dr Ravi Shankar has over two decades of experience in communications, print journalism, electronic media, documentary film making and new media.
He makes regular appearances on national television news channels as a commentator and analyst on current and political affairs. Apart from being an acknowledged Journalist, he has been a passionate newsroom manager bringing a wide range of journalistic experience from past associations with India’s leading media conglomerates (Times of India group and India Today group) and had led global news-gathering operations at world’s biggest multimedia news agency- ANI-Reuters. He has covered Parliament extensively over the past several years. Widely traveled, he has covered several summits as part of media delegation accompanying the Indian President, Vice President, Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Finance Minister across Asia, Africa and Europe.
