Britain on Thursday said it would give up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, but under what President Joe Biden called a "historic agreement" will keep a strategic Indian Ocean military base with the United States.

After years of negotiations, the UK is giving up its sovereignty over a cluster of strategically important Indian Ocean islands. The move has led to criticism from Britain's Conservative opposition and some local Indigenous groups.

Argentina has vowed to gain “full sovereignty” of the Falkland Islands after the UK gave up control of a remote archipelago. The country’s foreign minister, Diana Mondino, welcomed the step taken by Sir Keir Starmer’s Government on Thursday towards ending “outdated practices” after Britain returned the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.