India’s Strategic Presence in the Chagos Islands Holds Steady Amid Diego Garcia Lease Deal

New Delhi: India’s proposed defence and strategic presence in the Chagos Archipelago, agreed with the government of Mauritius in 2025, remains intact and central to New Delhi’s Indian Ocean strategy, even as the United Kingdom finalises a long-term lease for the key military base on Diego Garcia.

What Has Been Agreed 

In September 2025, India and Mauritius signed a landmark agreement to establish a satellite telemetry, tracking and communication station in Mauritian territory that is part of the expanded Chagos Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The facility allows India to track and receive real-time data from its satellites and launch vehicles, bolstering space situational awareness. It Enhances surveillance capabilities across a vast area of the Indian Ocean, where Beijing’s maritime activities have been rising. The agreement supports Mauritius in maritime security and monitoring of its expanded EEZ following sovereignty transfer.

This station, sometimes described as a strategic asset for monitoring the region, is a major gain for India’s maritime and space security infrastructure in the Indian Ocean.

Sovereignty Shift: Mauritius and Diego Garcia

Under a 2025 treaty, the United Kingdom ceded sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius, ending decades of dispute over the territory. However, as part of the same agreement, Britain retains the right to operate the Diego Garcia military base, under a 99-year lease-back arrangement with Mauritius.

Diego Garcia hosts the joint UK-US Naval Support Facility, a strategic hub for naval and air operations spanning the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, and will continue in that role throughout the lease term.

Lease Affect on India’s Presence

India’s agreement with Mauritius is independent of the UK-Mauritius defence arrangements regarding Diego Garcia. The satellite tracking facility India plans is tied to Mauritian sovereignty over Chagos, not British control of Diego Garcia.

The UK’s retention of Diego Garcia under a lease does not cancel or negate India’s right to establish its station under the bilateral pact with Mauritius. India has reaffirmed its support for Mauritius’ sovereignty claims, aligning with its broader regional diplomacy while acknowledging continued international military presence on Diego Garcia.

The effective result would be a dual-track arrangement, in which Mauritius will hold sovereign rights in the archipelago and grants access for strategic facilities like India’s satellite station, while the UK and US retain defence operations on Diego Garcia under long-term lease provisions.

What This Means for India’s Indian Ocean Strategy

Far from being in trouble, India’s Indian Ocean strategy appears to be strengthened and diversified. Enhanced monitoring, tracking and telemetry facility near these central Indian Ocean sea lanes gives India enhanced monitoring and data-collection reach, vital in an era of increasing naval and commercial traffic and geopolitical competition.

The pact highlights India’s role as a key security partner for island states like Mauritius, reinforcing ties through defence, maritime capacity building and infrastructure cooperation.

India’s strategic presence in the Chagos Islands region, notably the satellite tracking and telemetry station planned with Mauritius, remains on course, regardless of the British lease arrangement for Diego Garcia. While the UK-US military base continues to serve longstanding defence partnerships, India’s role in the central Indian Ocean is expanding through technology, surveillance capabilities and diplomatic engagement, ensuring that its broader Indian Ocean strategy remains resilient and forward-looking.

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