UK firm on Chagos Islands claim after Mauritius plants flag

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Britain has reaffirmed its sovereignty over a remote Indian Ocean archipelago after Mauritius underlined its own territorial claim by planting a flag on the islands. Officials planted the flag of Mauritius on the Chagos Islands, whose residents were expelled by Britain half a century ago to make way for a U.S. military base. Several islanders accompanied Mauritian officials on the voyage that also involved a scientific survey. It was the first time they had set foot there since they were evicted in the 1960s and 70s. The U.N. has told Britain to hand the islands to Mauritius. But the UK said Monday that it “has no doubt as to our sovereignty” over the archipelago.