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97-520: The group's name literally means freedom fighters of India (referring to the Indian subcontinent as a whole). According to a commander of a Taliban group, the group derived its name of "Ahrar" from Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam , because the Ahraris were against the partition of India and the formation of Pakistan ; they, rather, believed that the entire subcontinent was their homeland. The commander said that

194-564: A certain Paracha saab (a patwari of note), some observers believed the group was used by the TTP to carry out deniable attacks without disrupting the cease fire talks. The Pakistani government made disowning Ahrar-ul-Hind a condition of the TTP for peace talks to continue, while simultaneously carrying out airstrikes on Ahrar-ul-Hind bases. In response, the Taliban announced a ceasefire and accepted

291-531: A claim to sovereignty for the territory, citing the 1965 separation as illegal under international law, despite their apparent agreement at the time. The UK did not agree with the legal argument, but agreed to cede the territory to Mauritius when it was no longer required for defence purposes. According to the CIA World Factbook, the Seychelles also had a sovereignty claim on the islands. In 1982,

388-424: A cricket context, these countries are often referred to simply as the subcontinent around the world e.g. " Australia's tour of the subcontinent". The word is also sometimes used as an adjective in this context e.g. "subcontinental conditions". The Indian subcontinent was formerly part of Gondwana , a supercontinent formed during the late Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic . Gondwana began to break up during

485-593: A distinct political entity that eventually became a nation-state (today the Republic of India). According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the term subcontinent signifies a "subdivision of a continent which has a distinct geographical, political, or cultural identity" and also a "large land mass somewhat smaller than a continent". Its use to signify the Indian subcontinent is evidenced from

582-635: A palm tree rising above the British crown. During the Gulf War , 20 nuclear-armed Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers were stationed at the base as a nuclear deterrent . The base was also strategically positioned to support the 2001 War in Afganistan and the 2003 Iraq War . On 1 October 1991, the UK created the "BIOT Fisheries Conservation and Management Zone (FCMZ)" covering the territorial seas of

679-769: A period of low flight demand during the COVID-19 pandemic led to 800 Overseas Filipino Workers being unable to leave Diego Garcia. Comparisons between the BIOT and occupied areas of Ukraine hindered British diplomatic efforts to obtain Ukrainian support following the Russian invasion of Ukraine . Further pressure grew regarding Africa's "last colony", and in September 2022 British prime minister Liz Truss met with Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth On 3 November 2022,

776-621: A possession of Mauritius. They were first settled in the 18th century by African slaves and Indian contractors brought by Franco-Mauritians to found coconut plantations. At some point Diego Garcia hosted a leper colony for patients from Mauritius, who were treated with turtle oil. In 1810, Mauritius was captured by the United Kingdom, and France subsequently ceded the territory in the Treaty of Paris in 1814. The United Kingdom abolished slavery in 1833 , although those on what would become

873-645: A region or a 'realm' by itself than the Indian subcontinent." This natural physical landmass in South Asia is the dry-land portion of the Indian Plate , which has been relatively isolated from the rest of Eurasia. The Himalayas (from Brahmaputra River in the east to Indus River in the west), Karakoram (from Indus River in the east to Yarkand River in the west) and the Hindu Kush mountains (from Yarkand River westwards) form its northern boundary. In

970-482: A small archipelago southwest of the peninsula, while largely considered a part of the Indian subcontinent, sometimes is mentioned by sources, including the International Monetary Fund , as a group of islands away from the Indian subcontinent in a south-western direction. The population of Indian subcontinent is about 1.912 billion which makes it the most populated region in the world. It

1067-482: A term closely linked to the region's colonial heritage, as a cover term, the latter is still widely used in typological studies. Since the Partition of India , citizens of Pakistan (which became independent of British India in 1947) and Bangladesh (which became independent of Pakistan in 1971) often perceive the use of the Indian subcontinent as offensive and suspicious because of the dominant placement of India in

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1164-441: Is Diego Garcia , which at 32.5 square kilometres (12.5 sq mi) accounts for about half of the territory's total land area. The rest of the island's are much smaller, with the second largest being just over 3.1 square kilometres (1.2 sq mi). The terrain is flat and low, with an average elevation of 1.33 metres (4.4 ft) above sea level. In 2010, 545,000 square kilometres (210,000 square miles) of ocean around

1261-822: Is a peninsular region in South Asia delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Arakanese in the east. It extends southward into the Indian Ocean with the Arabian Sea to the southwest and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast. Most of this region rests on the Indian Plate and is isolated from the rest of Asia by large mountain barriers. Laccadive Islands , Maldives and

1358-588: Is a physiographical region in Southern Asia , mostly situated on the Indian Plate , projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas . Geographically, it spans the countries of Bangladesh , Bhutan , the British Indian Ocean Territory (United Kingdom), India , Maldives , Nepal , Pakistan , and Sri Lanka . Although the terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are often used interchangeably to denote

1455-613: Is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean , halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia . The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 individual islands, many very small, amounting to a total land area of 60 square kilometres (23 square miles). The largest and most southerly island is Diego Garcia , 27 square kilometres (10 square miles),

1552-550: Is common, the territory lies outside of cyclone paths that cross the Indian Ocean further south. The Diego Garcia military base is the United States military's overseas base most at risk from climate change . In terms of transportation on Diego Garcia, the island has short stretches of paved road between the port and airfield , and on its streets; transport is mostly by bicycle and on foot. The island had many wagonways , which were donkey-hauled narrow gauge railways for

1649-591: Is partly due to strategic shifts in US and UK foreign policies on Asia in response to China's growing power and influence, as disputes with former colonies encourage their deepening relationship with China. On 3 November 2022, Patrick Wintour of the Guardian reported that the UK and Mauritius had begun negotiations on sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory, taking into account

1746-521: Is reportedly required to ask permission of the United Kingdom to use the base for offensive military action. As the BIOT forms a separate legal jurisdiction to the United Kingdom under British law, many international conventions signed by the United Kingdom were not extended to the BIOT. These include humanitarian treaties, including the 1951 Refugee Convention and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , which makes

1843-687: Is socially very mixed, consisting of many language groups and religions, and social practices in one region that are vastly different from those in another. [REDACTED] Media related to Indian subcontinent at Wikimedia Commons [REDACTED] Africa [REDACTED] Antarctica [REDACTED] Asia [REDACTED] Australia [REDACTED] Europe [REDACTED] North America [REDACTED] South America [REDACTED] Afro-Eurasia [REDACTED] Americas [REDACTED] Eurasia [REDACTED] Oceania British Indian Ocean Territory The British Indian Ocean Territory ( BIOT )

1940-428: Is somewhat contested as there is no globally accepted definition on which countries are a part of South Asia or the Indian subcontinent. Whether called the Indian subcontinent or South Asia, the definition of the geographical extent of this region varies. Afghanistan , despite often considered as a part of South Asia, is usually not included in the Indian subcontinent. Maldives, an island country consisting of

2037-650: The 26 atolls of the Maldives lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere. Historically, the region surrounding and southeast of the Indus River was often simply referred to as "India" in many historical sources. Even today, historians use this term to denote the entire Indian subcontinent when discussing history up until the era of the British Raj. Over time, however, "India" evolved to refer to

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2134-727: The British Antarctic Territory ). The territory is one of eight dependencies in the Indian Ocean, alongside the Ashmore and Cartier Islands , Christmas Island , the Cocos (Keeling) Islands , and Heard Island and McDonald Islands , all Australian possessions; the French Southern and Antarctic Lands , with the French Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean and its dependencies of Tromelin and

2231-592: The Chagos Archipelago are three series of coral atolls , cays and Faroes on the Indian Plate along with the Chagos–Laccadive Ridge , a submarine ridge that was generated by the northern drift of the Indian Plate over the Réunion hotspot during the Cretaceous and early Cenozoic times. The Maldives archipelago rises from a basement of volcanic basalt outpourings from a depth of about 2000 m forming

2328-758: The Chagossian people. There are no official population figures, but an estimate from 1968 found 866 inhabitants: 336 in Diego Garcia, 162 in the Salomon islands, and 168 in Peros Banhos. The vital statistics were likely similar to other Indian Ocean islands. The birth rate on the Chagos archipelago was probably around 48 in every 1000. The birth rate for the former Seychellois islands was nominally lower, likely due to inhabitants more easily able to travel to

2425-682: The Glorioso Islands ; along with French Mayotte and Réunion . The head of government is the Commissioner , most recently Paul Candler until August 2024; the Deputy Commissioner is Nishi Dholakia, and the Administrator is Emily Ager, and all senior officials reside in the United Kingdom. The Commissioner's Representative in the territory is the officer commanding the detachment of British forces. The laws of

2522-693: The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea reached similar decisions. Negotiations between the UK and Mauritius began in November 2022, and culminated in an October 2024 agreement that the UK would eventually cede the territory to Mauritius while retaining the joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia. Maldivian mariners knew of the Chagos Islands, which were known as Fōlhavahi in

2619-768: The Mesozoic , with Insular India separating from Antarctica 130-120 million years ago and Madagascar around 90 million years ago, during the Cretaceous . Insular India subsequently drifted northeastwards, colliding with the Eurasian Plate nearly 55 million years ago, during the Eocene , forming the Indian subcontinent. The zone where the Eurasian and Indian subcontinent plates meet remains geologically active, prone to major earthquakes. Physiographically , it

2716-605: The United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 2066 on 16 December 1965, which stated that this detachment of part of the colonial territory of Mauritius was against customary international law as recorded earlier in the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples of 14 December 1960. This stated that "Any attempt aimed at the partial or total disruption of

2813-425: The military base commenced in 1971, with a large airbase with several long range runways constructed, as well as a harbour suitable for large naval vessels. Although classed as a joint UK/US base, in practice it is primarily staffed by the US military, although the UK maintains a garrison at all times, and Royal Air Force (RAF) long-range patrol aircraft are deployed there. During the 1980s, Mauritius asserted

2910-495: The BIOT continued work as indentured labour . In 1883 the plantations were bought by the Société Huilière de Diego et Peros. As of 1900 there were 426 families on the islands, 60 percent descended from the original African-Malagasy slaves, and 40% descended from South Asians brought over as indentured labour. Chagossian creole developed as a common language. The lives of the population remained effectively controlled by

3007-684: The BIOT. On 4 December 1995, the UK signed the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement on behalf of the BIOT, which was protested by Mauritius when it signed in 1997. Both Mauritius and the United Kingdom agreed to the inclusion of the BIOT within the area covered by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission , which was formed in 1996. In 1996 the Mauritius Marine Conservation Society unsuccessfully sought to have

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3104-517: The British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced that the UK and Mauritius had decided to begin negotiations on sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory, taking into account international legal proceedings. Both states had agreed to ensure the continued operation of the joint UK/US military base on Diego Garcia. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has argued this change of approach

3201-498: The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office claimed that it was an environmental move as well as a necessary move to improve the coral populations off east Africa, and therefore sub-Saharan marine supplies, some Chagossians claimed that the reserve would prevent any resettlement due to the inability to fish in protected areas. The Chagossian UK-based Diego Garcian Society stated that it welcomed the marine reserve, noting that it

3298-703: The Chagos Archipelago occurred between 1968 and 1973. The Chagossians , then numbering about 2,000 people, were expelled by the British government to Mauritius and Seychelles , even from the outlying islands far away from the military base on Diego Garcia. Today, the Chagossians are still trying to return, but the British government has repeatedly denied them the right of return despite calls from numerous human rights organisations to let them. The islands are off-limits to Chagossians, tourists , and

3395-537: The Chagos Archipelago. The Permanent Representative of Mauritius to the United Nations, Jagdish Koonjul , raised the Mauritian flag on Peros Banhos . The main purpose of the 15-day Mauritian expedition is to survey the unclaimed Blenheim Reef , to discover for a forthcoming International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea hearing if it is exposed at high tide so is claimable. The chartered Bleu De Nîmes

3492-859: The Chagossians from their homeland. In March 2007 Mauritian president Anerood Jugnauth declared a willingness to take the dispute to the ICJ, and for Mauritius to leave the Commonwealth. In November 2007 a line of communication was established between the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Mauritian High Commission for BIOT-related matters. The British government established the BIOT Marine Protected Area in April 2010, to mixed reactions from Chagossians. While

3589-591: The High Court and Court of Appeal in 2003 and 2004, the islanders' application for further compensation on top of the £14.5 million value package of compensation they had already received was dismissed by the court. Following the 2000 ruling the British government announced that Chagossians would be permitted to return to the archipelago, aside from Diego Garcia. This position was reversed in 2004, before any had moved. The United Kingdom offered citizenship to some Chagossians starting in 2002. On 17 September 2003,

3686-721: The House of Commons first. Some Chagossians have also criticised the deal for not having included the Chagossian community in the decision-making process. As a territory of the United Kingdom, the head of state is King Charles III . There is no Governor appointed to represent the King in the territory, as there are no permanent inhabitants (as is also the case in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and

3783-412: The ICJ advisory opinion, affirming that "the Chagos Archipelago forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius". The motion was approved by a majority vote with 116 member states voting for and 6 against. Votes against included the neighbouring Maldives, possibly concerned about the loss of maritime security benefits that emerge from the military base. The Seychelles benefits similarly, but voted for

3880-443: The ICJ decision, this decision had no legal compulsion, although both contributed to international pressure on the UK. The Universal Postal Union (UPU), which has jurisdiction over international mail among treaty signatory states, voted in 2021 to ban the use of BIOT postage stamps on mail from BIOT, instead requiring Mauritian stamps to be used. In February 2022, exiled islanders made their first unsupervised visit to an island in

3977-416: The ICJ issued an advisory opinion by 13 votes to 1. In its advisory opinion, the Court concluded that "the process of decolonisation of Mauritius was not lawfully completed when that country acceded to independence", and that "the United Kingdom is under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible". On 22 May 2019, the UNGA adopted a resolution citing

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4074-408: The Indian coast through the maritime routes on the Arabian Sea. In terms of modern geopolitical boundaries, the subcontinent constitutes Bangladesh , Bhutan , India, Nepal , and Pakistan , besides, by convention, the island country of Sri Lanka and other nearby island nations of the Indian Ocean, such as Maldives and the British Indian Ocean Territory . Unlike "South Asia", sometimes

4171-406: The Indian subcontinent has come to be known as South Asia "in more recent and neutral parlance". Indologist Ronald B. Inden argues that the usage of the term South Asia is becoming more widespread since it clearly distinguishes the region from East Asia. While South Asia , a more accurate term that reflects the region's contemporary political demarcations, is replacing the Indian subcontinent ,

4268-413: The Maldives to jointly settle the borders of EEZs in the area. These were unsuccessful, and in 2010 the Maldives submitted a claim that overlapped with both British and Mauritian claims. The Maldives contended that as much of the northern Chagos archipelago was uninhabited, they should not be included in the determination of EEZ baselines. Arbitration between the UK and Mauritius relating to the creation of

4365-411: The Seychelles for medical needs. Mortality before the age of 1 was around 98 per 1,000 live births. The overall death rate probably averaged under 12 per 1,000 people. Housing was simple, mostly using local wood and coconut leaves, with some imported concrete and corrugated iron. Most water was captured from rain, although there were groundwater wells. The islands at this time produced not only copra from

4462-421: The Seychelles. Another few hundred Chagossians already lived outside of the islands. The UK informed the United Nations that BIOT had no indigenous population, meaning the UK would not have to send reports on the territory to the UN. In 1971, the United Kingdom and the United States signed a treaty, leasing the island of Diego Garcia to the US military for the purposes of building a large air and naval base on

4559-435: The UK and US agreed waste would be shipped away from the territory. On 27 December 1984, Mauritius established an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) which included the waters around the BIOT, an action protested by the UK. In 1990, the first BIOT flag was unfurled. This flag, which also contains the Union Jack , has depictions of the Indian Ocean, where the islands are located, in the form of white and blue wavy lines and also

4656-420: The UK created the "BIOT Environmental Protection and Conservation Zone (EPCZ)" covering the BIOT's EEZ. This was opposed by Mauritius, which on 5 August 2005 reasserted their declared EEZ surrounding the territory. On 11 May 2006, the High Court ruled that a 2004 Order in Council preventing the Chagossians' resettlement of the islands was unlawful, and consequently that the Chagossians were entitled to return to

4753-455: The UK had set up to run the plantations. In 1968, when more workers were needed, non-Chagossian temporary workers were allowed in from the Seychelles. The remaining population was removed from Diego Garcia in January 1971, to meet a July 1971 deadline requested by the US. The populations of Peros Banhos and the Salomon Islands were removed starting from June 1972. The population as of 1965 was around 1,360 Chagossians, plus temporary workers from

4850-429: The UK would cede sovereignty over the territory. Under the deal, Diego Garcia will be excluded from any resettlement, and the UK will continue to administer the island for at least 99 years. Chagos Islanders would be allowed to return to the other islands and a fund will be established to support resettlement. No debate on the deal had taken place in the Parliament of the United Kingdom due to it being in recess, and

4947-404: The United Kingdom on 8 November 1965. While it initially sought for the base to be given on a lease, Mauritius was eventually paid £3 million to compensate for the territory's separation, under pressure due to then-ongoing independence negotiations. (An additional £650,000 was given in 1972, for relocation costs.) A few weeks after the decision to detach the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius,

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5044-433: The United States govern the use of the military base. The first exchange of notes, signed on 30 December 1966, constituted an agreement concerning the availability for defence purposes of the British Indian Ocean Territory. This was followed by agreements on the construction of a communications facility (1972), naval support facility (1976), construction contracts (1987), and a monitoring facility (1999). The United States

5141-443: The archipelago declared a World Heritage Site . Mauritius explicitly extended its ratification of the Nairobi Convention to the Chagos archipelago in 2000, although this had limited practical impact. The islanders, who now mainly reside in Mauritius and Seychelles, have continually asserted their right to return to Diego Garcia, winning important legal victories in the High Court of England and Wales in 2000, 2006, and 2007. In

5238-489: The archipelago. The Royal Navy also maintains two offshore patrol vessels in the Indo-Pacific region, HMS  Tamar and HMS  Spey . Either may be periodically employed for sovereignty protection and other duties in BIOT waters. HMS Tamar paid a rare visit to the islands in February/March 2023 conducting fisheries protection and other missions. The territory is an archipelago of 58 islands covering 56 square kilometres (22 sq mi). The largest island

5335-415: The central part of the ridge between Laccadives and the Great Chagos Bank . According to anthropologist Patrap C. Dutta, "the Indian subcontinent occupies the major landmass of South Asia." According to historian B. N. Mukherjee , "The subcontinent is an indivisible geographical entity." According to geographer Dudley Stamp , "There is perhaps no mainland part of the world better marked off by nature as

5432-438: The company, a system which persisted until the 1960s. An airstrip was built on Diego Garcia during the Second World War along with other military facilities. Military forces left once the war ended. In 1962 the plantations were bought by Chagos-Agalega Company, based in the Seychelles. At this time they covered 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres). The descendants of those brought to the islands to farm coconuts had developed into

5529-417: The condition of dealing with Ahrar-ul-Hind. After this announcement, the group claimed an attack on the Islamabad High Court in March 2014. In August 2014, Omar Khalid Khorasani merged Ahrar-ul-Hind with other dissident TTP commanders into a new group called Jamaat-ul-Ahrar , formally splitting away from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in September 2014. Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent

5626-420: The deal attracted criticism from opposition politicians such as James Cleverly , who, as foreign secretary, had initiated the negotiations that took place from November 2022 until December 2023. The announcement was also criticised by the Speaker of the House of Commons , Sir Lindsay Hoyle , who criticised the government for ignoring the constitutional convention that important matters should be announced in

5723-451: The early twentieth century when most of the territory was either part of the British Empire or allied with them. It was a convenient term to refer to the region comprising both British India and the princely states . The term has been particularly common in the British Empire and its successors, while the term South Asia is the more common usage in Europe and North America. According to historians Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal ,

5820-424: The east, it is bounded by Patkai , Naga , Lushai and Chin hills. The Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea form the boundary of the Indian subcontinent in the south, south-east and south-west. Given the difficulty of passage through the Himalayas, the sociocultural, religious and political interaction of the Indian subcontinent has largely been through the valleys of Afghanistan in its northwest,

5917-444: The expression "Indian subcontinent" may exclude the islands of Maldives and Sri Lanka. According to Pawan Budhwar, Arup Varma, and Manjusha Hirekhan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan constitute the Indian subcontinent. Budhwar, Varma, and Hirekhan also maintain that with Afghanistan and Maldives included the region is referred to as South Asia. The periphery of the subcontinent, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, and

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6014-415: The group planned to expand their operations to the remaining part of the subcontinent. The group mostly contained Taliban from Mohmand Agency 's Tribes, with some members from the Punjabi Taliban based in southern Punjab . Many of its members are based in eastern Afghanistan . While the group claimed to have split from the TTP because of opposition to peace talks with the government and after advice from

6111-483: The international legal proceedings. In December 2023, Tony Diver of the Daily Telegraph reported that the British government was planning to discontinue the talks. These negotiations ceased in late 2023 after the UK Defence Secretary blocked the agreement that had been negotiated by the Foreign Office. On 3 October 2024, British prime minister Keir Starmer and Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth jointly announced that an agreement had been reached under which

6208-417: The island chains of Maldives, features large Muslim populations, while the heartland, including most of India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, are overwhelmingly Hindu or Buddhist. Since most of these countries are located on the Indian Plate, a continuous landmass , the borders between countries are often either a river or a no man's land . The precise definition of an "Indian subcontinent" in a geopolitical context

6305-404: The island. The deal was important to the British government, as the United States granted it a substantial discount on the purchase of Polaris nuclear missiles in return for the use of the islands as a base. The island was strategically located near oil shipping routes, and Iran. It would counter any Soviet threat in the region. As of 1971, the population of Aldabra, Farquhar, and Desroches

6402-420: The islands may have inspired Maldivian folklore about giant hermit crabs. These islands were judged to be too far away from the seat of the Maldivian crown to be settled permanently by them. Thus, for many centuries the Chagos were ignored by their northern neighbours. The islands of Chagos Archipelago were charted by Vasco da Gama in the early 16th century, and then claimed in the 18th century by France as

6499-401: The islands was declared a marine reserve. The British Indian Ocean Territory (Constitution) Order 2004 defines the territory as comprising the following islands or groups of islands: These islands and associated coral reefs lie between 4°44 and 7°41 south and 70°47 and 72°47 east. As indicated above, the territory also included Aldabra , Farquhar and Desroches between 1965 and 1976;

6596-439: The landmass of Eurasia nearly 55 million years ago, forming the Himalayas. It is one of the most populated regions in the world, holding roughly 20–25 percent of the global population. Geographically, the peninsular region in Southern Asia is located below the Third Pole , delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Indo-Burman Ranges in the east. The neighboring geographical regions around

6693-406: The latter group of islands is located north of Madagascar and were annexed from and returned to the Seychelles . The climate is tropical marine ; hot, humid, and moderated by trade winds . These winds originate from the southeast from May to November, reversing for the rest of the year. The average temperature is 27 °C (81 °F), and does not vary greatly throughout the year. While rain

6790-538: The legal situation difficult. While the UK has joint jurisdiction over the military base, the British government contends that US warships around the base are responsible solely to the US, and thus do not need to meet British treaty obligations. Naval Party 1002 (NP 1002) is directly present in the territory, and is composed of both Royal Navy and Royal Marine personnel. NP 1002 is responsible for civil administration and enforcement. Its members are tasked with policing and carrying out customs duties. Royal Marines in

6887-399: The marine protected area began in 2010. This arbitration was cited by Mauritius to halt an attempt by a coalition of NGOs to have the archipelago declared a World Heritage site in 2012. In 2015 an UNCLOS tribunal ruled that the creation of a marine protected area violated British obligations. The idea to create a formal protected area was dropped. The US-UK arrangement which established

6984-548: The media. Since the 1980s, the Government of Mauritius sought to gain control over the Chagos Archipelago, which was separated from the then Crown Colony of Mauritius by the UK in 1965 to form the British Indian Ocean Territory. A February 2019 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice called for the islands to be given to Mauritius. Afterward, both the United Nations General Assembly and

7081-598: The national unity and the territorial integrity of a country is incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations". Mauritius became an independent Commonwealth realm in March 1968, and subsequently became a republic, also within the Commonwealth , in March 1992. In April 1967, the British government purchased the privately owned copra plantations for £600,000 and closed them. Over

7178-475: The next five years, the British authorities removed the entire population of about 2,000 people, known as Chagossians (or Ilois), from Diego Garcia and two other Chagos atolls, Peros Banhos and Salomon Islands , to Mauritius and the Seychelles. The expulsion was carried out by preventing Chogossians who had left from returning from 1967, assisted by the Moulinie and Company (Seychelles), Limited company which

7275-399: The northern Maldives, and Hollhavai in the southern Maldives. Hollhavai also referred to other islands scattered throughout the Indian Ocean, such as the Seychelles. According to Southern Maldivian oral tradition, traders and fishermen were occasionally lost at sea and got stranded on one of the islands of the Chagos. Eventually they were rescued and brought back home. The coconut crabs of

7372-500: The outer islands of the Chagos Archipelago. On 23 May 2007, this was confirmed by the Court of Appeal. In a visit sponsored by the British government, the islanders visited Diego Garcia and other islands on 3 April 2006 for humanitarian purposes, including the tending of the graves of their ancestors. On 22 October 2008, the British government won an appeal to the House of Lords regarding the royal prerogative used to continue excluding

7469-399: The patrol and research role. The vessel reportedly operates in conjunction with personnel from NP 1002 on both fisheries and military enforcement tasks / exercises , and also carries scientists / researchers involved in a range of research work, particularly conservation. In 2022, Grampian Frontier tracked a Mauritian-charted vessel temporarily bringing Chagossian exiles to Blenheim Reef in

7566-529: The plantations, but fish, and fruit in the case of the Chagos archipelago. Alcohol was produced for local consumption, from coconut, sugar cane, and other materials. It is likely there was some malnutrition. Beginning in February 1964, the UK and US began secret talks about a military base in Diego Garcia. The US wanted a territory with no local population, and the islands were lightly inhabited compared to other potential locations. The initial option of Aldabra

7663-431: The region, the geopolitical term of South Asia frequently includes Afghanistan , which is not considered a part of the subcontinent, while excluding the British Indian Ocean Territory which is geologically associated with the subcontinent. Geologically, the subcontinent originates from Insular India , an isolated landmass that rifted from the supercontinent of Gondwana during the Cretaceous and merged with

7760-545: The resolution in solidarity with the African Union. On 28 January 2021, the United Nation's International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled, in a dispute between Mauritius and Maldives on their maritime boundary, that the United Kingdom has no sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, and that Mauritius is sovereign there. The United Kingdom disputes and does not recognise the tribunal's decision. As with

7857-471: The site of a Joint Military Facility of the United Kingdom and the United States . Official administration is remote from London , though the local capital is often regarded as being on Diego Garcia. The only inhabitants are British and United States military personnel, and associated contractors , who collectively number around 3,000 (2018 figures). The forced removal of Chagossians from

7954-766: The subcontinent include the Tibetan Plateau to the north, the Indochinese Peninsula to the east, the Iranian Plateau to the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south. Apart from Maritime Southeast Asia (the Malay Archipelago ), the maritime region of the subcontinent ( littoral South Asia ) is the only subregion of Asia that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere : the British Indian Ocean Territory two of

8051-556: The support of other African countries. Brexit deprived the United Kingdom of support from European allies. In May 2017, Mauritius challenged the presence of the UK at a meeting of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission. On 22 June 2017 the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) voted to refer the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by 94 to 15. There were 65 abstentions, including British allies such as Canada, France, and Germany. In February 2019,

8148-534: The term. As such it is being increasingly less used in those countries. Meanwhile, many Indian analysts prefer to use the term because of the socio-cultural commonalities of the region. The region has also been called the "Asian subcontinent", the "South Asian subcontinent", as well as "India" or " Greater India " in the classical and pre-modern sense. The sport of cricket is notably popular in India , Pakistan , Sri Lanka , Nepal and Bangladesh . Within

8245-476: The terms of the Courts Ordinance 1983. There is no legislature (and no elections) as there are no permanent inhabitants, although a small legal system has been established for the jurisdiction. As almost all residents of the BIOT are members of the United States military, in practice, crimes are more commonly charged under United States military law . Applicable treaties between the United Kingdom and

8342-552: The territory also reportedly form a security detachment. Prior to 2017, the BIOT patrol vessel, MV Pacific Marlin , was based in Diego Garcia . It was operated by the Swire Pacific Offshore Group. The Pacific Marlin patrolled the marine reserve all year, and since the marine reserve was designated in April 2010, the number of apprehensions of illegal vessels within the area has increased. The ship

8439-542: The territory are based on the constitution, currently set out in the British Indian Ocean Territory (Constitution) Order 2004, which gives the Commissioner power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the territory. If the Commissioner has not made a law on a particular topic then, in most circumstances, the laws that apply in the territory are the same as those that apply in England and Wales under

8536-427: The territory for defence purposes initially was in place from 1966 to 2016, and has subsequently been renewed to continue until 2036. The announcement was accompanied by a pledge of £40 million in compensation to former residents. The base was seen as important for managing growing Chinese influence in the region. The formerly obscure sovereignty dispute gained more international recognition as Mauritius obtained

8633-527: The transport of coconut wagons. These are no longer in use and have deteriorated. Diego Garcia's military base is home to the territory's only airport . At 3,000 metres (9,800 feet) long, the runway is capable of supporting heavy US Air Force bombers such as the B-52 , and would have been able to support the Space Shuttle in the event of a mission abort. It also has a major naval seaport, and there

8730-457: The valleys of Manipur in its east, and by maritime routes . More difficult but historically important interaction has also occurred through passages pioneered by the Tibetans . These routes and interactions have led to the spread of Buddhism out of the subcontinent into other parts of Asia. The Islamic expansion arrived into the subcontinent in two ways: through Afghanistan on land, and to

8827-726: The west it is bounded by parts of the mountain ranges of Hindu Kush , Spīn Ghar (Safed Koh), Sulaiman Mountains , Kirthar Mountains , Brahui range, and Pab range among others, with the Western Fold Belt along the border (between the Sulaiman Range and the Chaman Fault) is the western boundary of the Indian Plate, where, along the Eastern Hindu Kush, lies the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. In

8924-487: Was 246. This dropped to 155 in 1975, likely reflecting uncertainty about these islands' future status. On 23 June 1976, these islands were returned to the Seychelles, which became independent as a republic on 29 June 1976; the islands now form part of the Outer Islands district of the Seychelles. Subsequently, the territory has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago . Work on

9021-486: Was built in 1978 as an ocean-going tug . It is 57.7 metres (189 feet 4 inches) long, with a draught of 3.8 metres (12 feet 6 inches), and gross tonnage of 1,200 tons. It has a maximum speed of 12.5 knots (23.2 kilometres per hour ; 14.4 miles per hour ) with an economic speed of 11 knots (20 kilometres per hour; 13 miles per hour), permitting a range of about 18,000 nautical miles (33,000 kilometres; 21,000 miles) and fuel endurance of 68 days. It

9118-544: Was dropped due to international interest in its ecosystem. In 1965, the United Kingdom split the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius and the islands of Aldabra , Farquhar and Desroches (Des Roches) from the Seychelles to form the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). The purpose was to allow the construction of military facilities for the mutual benefit of the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The islands were formally established as an overseas territory of

9215-599: Was in the interest of Chagossians to have the area protected while they were exiled and that it could be renegotiated upon resettlement. The Foreign Office claimed the reserve was made "without prejudice to the outcome of proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights ". (That court's 2012 decision was not in favour of the Islanders anyway.) The protected area covered the territory's EEZ, but not its territorial waters. In 2009 Mauritius began negotiating with

9312-505: Was shadowed by a British fisheries protection vessel. In October 2021 Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers landed on Diego Garcia, and submitted asylum claims. The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees does not apply to the BIOT. Around 173 arrived in 2021 and 2022. Some were moved to Rwanda , with around 60 left as of January 2024. In 2022, a dispute arising from American defence contractor KBR allegedly prohibiting holidays during

9409-551: Was the oldest vessel in the Swire fleet. Pacific Marlin reportedly spent about 54% of her taskings on fishery patrol duties, and a further 19% on military patrol duties. In 2016, a new contract was signed with Scottish -based North Star Shipping for the use of the vessel MV Grampian Frontier (also known as the Grampian Endurance ). She is a 70 metres (230 feet) vessel carrying up to 24 personnel, and fulfils both

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