x     The Chagos Archipelago is of major military significance as it hosts the strategically located Diego Garcia base. Diego Garcia, the largest of the 55 islands that make up the archipelago, forms part of the British Indian Ocean Territory . Control of the islands passed to Britain following France’s cession of several Indian Ocean territories under the 1814 Treaty of Paris. The UK formally purchased the Chagos Islands for £3 million in November 1965, establishing the BIOT. The joint US–UK