Key facts about Chagos Islands deal to be signed by UK and Mauritius

LONDON - Britain is set to conclude a multi-billion dollar deal over the Chagos Islands with Mauritius after a last-gasp injunction was overturned, allowing for the formal signing of the treaty that would secure the future of the U.S.-UK Diego Garcia air base.

Here are some key points about the islands, the deal and why it remains contentious:

ISLANDERS DISPLACED

The Chagos Archipelago is a group of six atolls with more than 600 individual islands in the Indian Ocean, 500 km (300 miles) south of the Maldives and halfway between Africa and Indonesia.

Around 4,000 people are stationed on the islands now.

No indigenous inhabitants, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, have lived there since Britain forcibly displaced up to 2,000 people, mostly former agricultural workers, from the islands in the late 1960s and early 1970s to establish the Diego Garcia base.

Britain has since come under increasing international pressure to hand over control of the islands to Mauritius.

But a handover agreement reached last October has drawn criticism from lawmakers as well as Britons born on Diego Garcia.

THE DEAL

In October, Britain agreed to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a former colony that gained independence in 1968.

Britain would pay Mauritius 3 billion pounds ($4 billion) to secure the future of the Diego Garcia military base as part of that deal, U.S. officials have said.

Despite the transfer of sovereignty, Britain would maintain control over the base under a 99-year lease.

U.S. President Donald Trump backed the deal in February.

SIGNIFICANCE

The deal is significant due to the strategic importance of Diego Garcia, which serves as a key military base in the Indian Ocean for the U.S. and Britain. China also has a growing reach in the region, including close trade ties with Mauritius.