Diego García is an island considered the largest
atollAn atoll is an island of coral that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu
OED. Its first recorded use in English was in 1625 as atollon...
, in terms of land area, of the
Chagos ArchipelagoThe Chagos Archipelago is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 individual tropical islands roughly in the centre of the Indian Ocean....
, and is part of the British Indian Ocean Territories. The island is located in the
Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by South Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean...
, about 1,600 km (1,000 mi) south of the southern coast of
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
. Other countries in the vicinity of Diego Garcia include
Sri LankaSri Lanka , officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka , is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India...
and
MaldivesThe Maldives , or Maldive Islands, officially Republic of Maldives, is an island country in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls stretching along north-south direction off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and Chagos Archipelago...
.
The
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
were the first Europeans to reach and explore the island of Diego Garcia, with the discovery attributed to the navigator
Pêro de MascarenhasPedro Mascarenhas was a Portuguese explorer and colonial administrator. He was the first European to discover the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in 1512...
while sailing in a fleet under Dom Garcia de Noronha's leadership during 1512 and 1513.
In the 1960s, the Chagos archipelago was secretly leased to the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and detached from
MauritiusMauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation off the coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the Republic includes the islands of Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues and the Agalega Islands...
with the intention of expelling its entire population and establishing a military base. In 1971 the United Kingdom and
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entered an agreement under which the latter would set up a military base in Diego Garcia.
Since then, the United Kingdom enforced the highly controversial
depopulation of Diego GarciaThe Diego Garcia depopulation controversy pertains to the expulsion of the established inhabitants of the island of Diego Garcia, part of the British Indian Ocean Territory , during the 1960s and 1970s...
, forcing the deportation of the island's entire 2,000 population, descendants of African slaves and Hindu laborers brought to the islands by the French in the 18th century, to the surrounding islands including Mauritius, located 1,200 miles away. In their place a joint British-American military base of 3,500 was set up.
This island has one of the five monitoring stations assisting the operation of the
Global Positioning SystemThe Global Positioning System is a U.S. space-based global navigation satellite system. It provides reliable positioning, navigation, and timing services to worldwide users on a continuous basis in all weather, day and night, anywhere on or near the Earth.GPS is made up of three parts: between 24...
, the others being on
Ascension IslandAscension Island is an isolated island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean, around from the coast of Africa, and from the coast of South America. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Saint Helena, which is to...
,
HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states, and is the only state made up entirely of islands. It is located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. The state was admitted to the Union on August...
,
KwajaleinKwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, nicknamed Kwaj by English-speaking residents of the U.S...
and in Colorado Springs.
It is covered in luxuriant tropical vegetation, with little sign of the
copraCopra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut.-Production:Coconut oil is traditionally extracted by grating or grinding copra, then boiling it in water. It was long used by Pacific island cultures and became a valuable commercial product for merchants in the South Seas and South Asia in the...
and
coconutThe Coconut Palm is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only species in the genus Cocos, and is a large palm, growing to 30 m tall, with pinnate leaves 4–6 m long, pinnae 60–90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly leaving the trunk smooth. The term coconut refers to the seed of the...
plantationA plantation is a large farm or estate, usually in a tropical or subtropical country, where crops are grown for sale in distant markets, rather than for local consumption. The term plantation is informal and not precisely defined....
s that once covered it. It is long, with a maximum elevation of , and nearly encloses a
lagoonA lagoon is a body of comparatively shallow salt or brackish water separated from the deeper sea by a shallow or exposed sandbank, coral reef, or similar feature. Thus, the enclosed body of water behind a barrier reef or barrier islands or enclosed by an atoll reef is called a lagoon. This...
about long and up to wide. Depths in the lagoon extend to , and numerous coral heads form hazards to navigation. Shallow reefs surround the island on the ocean side. The channel and anchorage area are
dredgeDredging is an excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater, in shallow seas or fresh water areas with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments and disposing of them at a different location....
d, while the old turning basin can also be used.
Geography
The atoll forms a nearly complete rim of land around a lagoon, enclosing 90 percent of its
perimeterA perimeter is a path that surrounds an area. The word comes from the Greek peri and meter . The term may be used either for the path or its length - it can be thought of as the length of the outline of a shape. The perimeter of a circular area is called circumference.- Practical uses :Calculating...
, with an opening only in the north. The main island is the largest of about sixty islands which form the Chagos Archipelago. Besides the main island, there are three small islets at the mouth of the lagoon in the north:
- West Island (3.4 ha/8.4 acres)
- Middle Island (6 ha/14.8 acres)
- East Island (11.75 ha/29 acres)
A fourth island shown on some maps,
Anniversary Island one kilometre southwest of Middle Island, appears as just a sand bar on satellite images. Both Middle Island and Anniversary Island sit on the
Spur Reef complex.
The total area of the atoll is 174 km
2 (66 mi
2) according to [ftp://rock.geosociety.org/pub/reposit/2001/2001075.pdf], of which 30 km
2 (12 mi
2) are land, 17 km
2 (6.5 mi
2) peripheral reef and 124 km
2 (48 mi
2) are lagoon.
Climate
Annual rainfall averages 260 cm (102 in), with the heaviest
precipitationIn meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that is deposited on the Earth's surface. The main forms of precipitation include rain, snow, ice pellets, and graupel...
from October to February. August, the driest month, averages 100 mm (4.2 in). Temperatures are generally close to 30°C (86 °F) by day, falling to the low 20s °C (70 °F) by night. Humidity is high throughout the year. The almost constant breezes keep conditions reasonably comfortable.
Diego Garcia is at risk from
tropical cycloneA tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones feed on heat released when moist air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor contained in the moist air...
s. The surrounding
topographyTopography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
is low and does not provide an extensive wind break. Since the 1960s the island has not been seriously affected by a severe tropical cyclone, even though it has often been threatened. The maximum sustained wind associated with a tropical cyclone in the period 1970-2000 was approximately 40 knots (75 km/h).
The island was somewhat affected by the
tsunamiA is a series of water waves that is caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, such as an ocean. The original Japanese term literally translates as "harbor wave." Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan; approximately 195 events have been recorded...
caused by the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquakeThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
. Service personnel on the western arm of the atoll island reported only a minor increase in wave activity. The island was protected to a large degree by its favourable ocean topography. About 80 km (50 mi) east of the atoll lies the 650 km (400-mile) long Chagos Trench, an underwater canyon plunging more than 4,900 m (16,000 ft). The depth of the trench and its grade to the atoll's slope and shelf shore makes it more difficult for substantial tsunami waves to build before passing the atoll from the east. In addition, near shore coral reefs and an algal platform may have dissipated much of the waves' impact. A biological survey conducted in early 2005 indicated erosional effects of the tsunami wave on Diego Garcia and other islands of the Chagos Archipelago. One 200 to 300 m stretch of atoll shoreline was found to have been breached by the tsunami wave, representing approximately 10 percent of the eastern arm. A biological survey by the Chagos Conservation Trust reported that the resulting inundation additionally washed away shoreline shrubs and small to medium size coconut palms.
On November 30, 1983 a
magnitudeThe moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released...
7
earthquakeAn earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph...
55 km (34 mi) northwest of the island caused a small tsunami resulting in a 1.5 m (5 ft) rise in wave height in the lagoon, causing some damage to buildings, piers and the runway. Immediately following the earthquake, many of the military and civilian residents of the island gathered at the Naval Support Facility swimming pool. The hill built to enclose the swimming pool, at 22 feet above sea level, is the highest point on the island.
History
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
explorers were the first Europeans to discover the island of Diego Garcia. The island may have first been explored by the Portuguese navigator
Pêro de MascarenhasPedro Mascarenhas was a Portuguese explorer and colonial administrator. He was the first European to discover the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in 1512...
(1470–June 23, 1555) during his voyage of 1512–13, but there is little corroborative evidence for this, while cartographic analysis points to a subsequent date, possibly 1532 or later.
In addition considerable uncertainty exists regarding the origin of the name of Diego Garcia, particularly as no navigator of this name can be traced in contemporary records for this part of the world. He might be the same Diego Garcia as sailed to the
Río de la PlataThe Río de la Plata —always rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries— is the river formed by the combination of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River...
in 1526, and possibly with Hernando de Soto's voyage, but as a Spaniard it seems unlikely that he was ever in the Indian Ocean. In fact there is good reason to believe that the Christian name, Diego, of the island's discoverer was a misnomer or misreading which came into use towards the end of the sixteenth century. Although the Cantino Planisphere (1504) and the Ruysch map (1507) clearly delineate the Maldives, giving them the same names, they show no islands to the south which can be identified as the Chagos group.
The
Sebastian CabotSebastian Cabot may refer to:*Sebastian Cabot , Italian explorer*Sebastian Cabot , British actor...
map (Antwerp 1544) shows a number of islands to the south which may be the Mascarene group. The first map which identifies and names 'Los Chagos' (in about the right position) is that of Pierre Descelier (Dieppe 1550), although Diego Garcia is not named. An island called 'Don Garcia' appears on the
Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis of
Abraham Orteliusthumb|180px|right|Abraham Ortelius.Abraham Ortelius was a Flemish cartographer and geographer, generally recognised as the creator of the first modern atlas.-Life:...
(Antwerp 1564), together with 'Dos Compagnos', slightly to the north. It may be the case that 'Don Garcia' was named after Garcia de Noronha, although there no evidence exists to support this supposition. The island is also shown as 'Don Garcia' on
MercatorMercator may refer to:* Marius Mercator , a Catholic ecclesiastical writer* Gerardus Mercator, a 16th-century Flemish cartographer** Mercator projection, a cartographic projection devised by Gerardus Mercator...
's
Nova et Aucta Orbis Terrae Description (Duisburg 1569). However, on the
Vera Totius Expeditionis Nauticae Description of Jodocus Hondius (London 1589), 'Don Garcia' mysteriously changes its name to 'I. de Dio Gratia', while the 'I. de Chagues' appears close by.
The first map to delineate the island under its present name, Diego Garcia, is the
World Map of Edward Wright (London 1599), possibly as a result of misreading Dio (or simply 'D.') as Diego, and Gratia as Garcia. The
Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis Geographica of Henricus Hondius (Antwerp 1630) repeats Wright's misreading of the name, which is then proliferated on all subsequent Dutch maps of the period, and to the present day.
The islands were uninhabited until the 18th century, when the
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
established
coconutThe Coconut Palm is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only species in the genus Cocos, and is a large palm, growing to 30 m tall, with pinnate leaves 4–6 m long, pinnae 60–90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly leaving the trunk smooth. The term coconut refers to the seed of the...
plantations using slave labour. Diego Garcia became a colony of the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
after the
Napoleonic warsThe Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts declared against Napoleon's French Empire and changing sets of European allies by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionized European armies and played...
, and from 1814–1965 it was a dependency of
MauritiusMauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation off the coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the Republic includes the islands of Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues and the Agalega Islands...
.
In 1914, the island was visited by the German cruiser SMS
Emden.
In 1965, the
Chagos ArchipelagoThe Chagos Archipelago is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 individual tropical islands roughly in the centre of the Indian Ocean....
, which include Diego Garcia, were detached from Mauritius to form part of the
British Indian Ocean TerritoryThe British Indian Ocean Territory or Chagos Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Africa and Indonesia...
(BIOT). In 1966 the crown bought the islands and plantations, which had been under private ownership and which had been unprofitable since the introduction of new oils and lubricants. In 1971, due to an agreement between the UK and the US, the plantations were closed, and the island made available to the US as a
military baseA military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations.- Etymology :...
. No payment was made as part of this arrangement, although it has been claimed that the United Kingdom received a
US$The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents .The U.S...
14M discount on the acquisition of
Polaris missilesThe Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fuel nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile built during the Cold War by Lockheed Corporation of California for the United States Navy. It was designed to be used as part of the Navy's contribution to the United States arsenal of nuclear...
from the United States. The agreement forbids any other economic activity on the island.
Until 1971 Diego Garcia had a native population of two thousand Chagossians or Ilois, descendants of Indian workers and African slaves who had been brought to the island in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to work on the coconut and copra plantations. They lived in three settlements: East Point, the main settlement on the eastern rim of the atoll; Minni Minni, north of East Point; and Pointe Marianne, on the western rim. The islands were
forcibly depopulatedThe Diego Garcia depopulation controversy pertains to the expulsion of the established inhabitants of the island of Diego Garcia, part of the British Indian Ocean Territory , during the 1960s and 1970s...
by the UK, their residents moved to the
SeychellesSeychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an archipelago nation of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar...
and then to Mauritius using controversial techniques. Since their expulsion the Chagossians have continually asserted their right to return to Diego Garcia. In April 2006, 102 Chagossians were allowed to visit Diego Garcia for a day, to tend to graves and visit their birthplaces. For a good general history of the Islands and what happened to the Ilois, refer to The Minority Rights Group Report No 54 - 'Diego Garcia: a contrast to the Falklands'.
Diego Garcia is home to a
military baseA military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations.- Etymology :...
jointly operated by the United States and the United Kingdom. It is a naval refuelling and support station and the home of Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron Two, the naval unit responsible for the readiness of the ships in
Military Sealift CommandThe Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...
Prepositioning Program in the Indian Ocean, a vital strategic asset to the United States.
It has an air base that primarily supported land-based U.S. Navy
P-3 OrionThe Lockheed P-3 Orion is a maritime patrol aircraft used by numerous navies and air forces around the world, primarily for maritime patrol, reconnaissance, anti-surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare.-Development:...
maritime patrol aircraft during the
Cold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic competition existing after World War II , primarily between the USSR and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, including the United States...
. Since 11 September 2001, in addition to P-3 aircraft, it has also supported some of the largest military
aircraftAn aircraft is a vehicle which is able to fly by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to fly by being supported...
. U.S. Air Force
B-52The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered, strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since 1955....
s, B-1Bs and
B-2The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is an American heavy bomber with "low observable" stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. Because of its considerable capital and operations costs, the project was controversial in...
s, as well as various
aerial refuelingAerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling , air-to-air refueling or tanking, is the process of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight. Applied to helicopters, it is known as HAR for Helicopter Aerial Refueling...
tanker
aircraftAn aircraft is a vehicle which is able to fly by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to fly by being supported...
have been deployed to Diego Garcia to execute missions. During the
1991 Gulf WarThe Persian Gulf War , known also as the Gulf War, the First Gulf War,or often as the Second Gulf War and by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as The Mother of all Battles, or commonly as Desert Storm, for the military response...
, Diego Garcia was home to the 4300th Bomb Wing (Provisional), made up of B-52G bombers from the former Loring AFB, Maine and other B-52G bases. It was also used in support of military missions in
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
during
Operation Enduring FreedomOperation Enduring Freedom is the official name used by the U.S. Government for its War in Afghanistan and Iraq, together with three smaller military actions, under the umbrella of its Global War on Terror...
, and to Iraq again during the
2003 invasionThe 2003 invasion of Iraq, was led by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia, Denmark, Poland and Spain. Four countries participated with troops during the initial invasion phase, which lasted from March 20 to May 1...
. High-tech portable shelters to support the
B-2The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is an American heavy bomber with "low observable" stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. Because of its considerable capital and operations costs, the project was controversial in...
bomber were built on the island before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The B-52s,
B-1The B-1 Lancer is a strategic bomber used by the United States Air Force. First envisioned in the 1960s as a supersonic bomber with sufficient range and payload to replace the B-52 Stratofortress, it developed primarily into a low-level penetrator with long range and supersonic speed capability...
s and B-2s deployed to Diego Garcia in anticipation of the second Iraq War carried out the initial
aerial bombardmentThe aerial bombing of cities began in 1911, developed through World War I, grew to a vast scale in World War II, and continues to the present day.-Italian-Turkish War of 1911-1912:...
on
BaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is coterminous. Having a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq and the second largest in the Arab World....
on March 22, 2003. Some of these
bomberA bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, primarily by dropping bombs on them.-Classifications of bombers:...
s dropped GPS guided bombs and
laser guidedA laser-guided bomb is a precision-guided munition that uses semi-active laser homing to strike a designated target with greater accuracy than a free-fall bomb. LGBs are one of the most common and widespread PGMs, used by a large number of the world's air forces.-Overview:Laser-guided munitions...
1,905 kg (4,200 lb.)
bunker busterA bunker buster is a bomb designed to penetrate hardened targets or targets buried deep underground.-World War II:In World War II the British designer Barnes Wallis, of bouncing-bomb fame, designed two bombs that would today be called bunker busters: the five tonne Tallboy and the ten tonne Grand...
s in "
decapitation strikeIn the theory of nuclear warfare, a decapitation strike is a first strike attack that aims to remove the command and control mechanisms of the opponent, in the hope that it will severely degrade or destroy its capacity for nuclear retaliation....
s" intended to kill
Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the President of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
and other
Baath PartyThe Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was founded in Damascus in the 1940s by Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Bitar, both Syrian intellectuals, as the original secular Arab nationalist movement, to unify all Arab countries in one State and to combat Western colonial rule that dominated the Arab region at that...
officials. Although they now primarily deploy to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Diego Garcia still remains a regular deployment site for U.S. Navy
P-3C OrionThe Lockheed P-3 Orion is a maritime patrol aircraft used by numerous navies and air forces around the world, primarily for maritime patrol, reconnaissance, anti-surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare.-Development:...
maritime patrolMaritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities....
aircraft.
The base is part of the U.S. Space Surveillance Network, with a three-telescope GEODSS station, and is a
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
Space ShuttleThe Space Shuttle, part of the Space Transportation System , is a spacecraft operated by NASA for orbital human spaceflight missions. It began operations in the 1980s and is scheduled to be retired from service in 2010 after 134 launches...
emergency landing site.
Neither the U.S. nor the UK recognises Diego Garcia as being subject to the
African Nuclear Weapons Free Zone TreatyThe African Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty, also known as the Treaty of Pelindaba, establishes a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Africa.The treaty was signed in 1996 and came into effect with the 28th ratification on 15 July 2009.-Treaty Outline:...
, though the rest of the
Chagos ArchipelagoThe Chagos Archipelago is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 individual tropical islands roughly in the centre of the Indian Ocean....
is included, suggesting they wish to maintain the freedom to base
nuclear weaponA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion...
s there.
The agreement between the UK and U.S. for the U.S. to use the island as a military base was made in 1966. It runs until 2036, but either government can opt out of the agreement in 2016.
Construction and maintenance of the base's communications equipment, fuel facilities and military hardware are done strictly by military contractors, and inventories of that weaponry are classified. No service-member family dependents are allowed. In 2001, the U.S.
Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the military...
said that there were more buildings on Diego Garcia (654) than military personnel.
Politics
In 2000 the British High Court upheld the claims of the islanders that the Ordinance which had been enacted to ensure their removal (although it was never in fact invoked for that purpose) was unlawful.
Robin CookRobert Finlayson Cook was a British Labour politician, who was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 1997 to 2001....
, the
British Foreign SecretaryThe Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and responsible for relations with foreign countries, matters pertaining to the Commonwealth of...
at the time, did not appeal. In 2002, the UK Parliament enacted legislation which gave all Chagossians the right to obtain British citizenship, granted the islanders the right to return to the Archipelago and granted them UK citizenship. In 2002, the islanders and their descendants, now numbering 4,500, returned to court requesting compensation, after two years of delays by the
British Foreign OfficeThe Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO, is the British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
. The Chagossians began proceedings to seek additional compensation payments from the British Government (they had been granted £650,000 compensation on removal in the 1970s, and a further £4 million in the early 1980s). The High Court and Court of Appeal upheld the Government's position that the compensation already paid was fair and lawful, and struck down the Chagossians claims for additional payments. Subsequently, on June 10, 2004, the British government enacted two
Orders-in-CouncilAn Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, typically those in the Commonwealth of Nations. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the Queen by the Privy Council , but in other countries the terminology may vary.-Assent:Although the Orders are...
re-establishing immigration controls on the islands and effectively banning the islanders from returning home, reversing the 2000 court decision. Some of the Chagossians are making return plans to turn Diego Garcia into a sugarcane and fishing enterprise as soon as the defence agreement expires, and there have been discussions about the development of a commercial tourism industry on the islands, which may raise environmental concerns. A few dozen other Chagossians are still fighting to be housed in the UK, although they have the same rights as all British citizens.
On May 11, 2006, the High Court ruled that the 2004 Orders-in-Council were unlawful, and that the Chagossians were entitled to return to the Chagos Archipelago.The judges, Lord Justice Hooper and Mr Justice Cresswell concluded:
"The suggestion that a minister can, through the means of an order in council, exile a whole population from a British Overseas Territory and claim that he is doing so for the 'peace, order and good government' of the territory is to us repugnant." Olivier Bancoult, the representative of the Chagossians, called on Prime Minister
Tony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
to honour the decision of the court and allow his people to go home.
"We have always believed that a human being has the right to live in the place of his birth. Everywhere, the British government paints itself as the champion of human rights - so what about the human rights of the Chagossian people?"
This judgment was upheld by the Court of Appeal on May 23, 2007. The British Government then appealed to the House of Lords, which on 22 October 2008 overturned the earlier decision and ruled that the evicted islanders could not return to the archipelago. The Chagossians may now take their legal battle to the
European Court of Human RightsThe European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is an international judicial body established under the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950 to monitor respect of human rights by states...
.
Prison site allegation
Human rights groups claim that the military base is used by the U.S. government for the controversial extraordinary rendition of prisoners. This claim was supported by the
Council of EuropeThe Council of Europe is the oldest international organisation working towards European integration, having been founded in 1949. It has a particular emphasis on legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
in June 2007. The
British Foreign SecretaryThe Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and responsible for relations with foreign countries, matters pertaining to the Commonwealth of...
Jack StrawJack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also be:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" * Jack Straw * Jack Straw Foundation, American public radio foundation* Jackstraws, game pick-up sticks...
stated in Parliament that U.S. authorities have repeatedly assured him that no detainees have passed in transit through Diego Garcia or have disembarked there. In October 2007 the all-party Foreign Affairs Committee of the British Parliament announced that it would launch an investigation of the claims, which it is reported were twice confirmed by General
Barry McCaffreyBarry Richard McCaffrey is a retired United States Army general, former U.S. Drug Czar, news commentator, and business consultant....
.
On October 19, 2007
The GuardianThe Guardian is a British daily newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Founded in 1821, it is unique among major British newspapers in being owned by a foundation .The Guardian Weekly, which circulates worldwide, provides a compact digest of four newspapers...
reported: "The all-party foreign affairs committee is to examine long-standing suspicions that the agency has operated one of its so-called '
black siteIn military terminology, a black site is a location at which a black project is conducted. Recently the term has gained notoriety in describing secret prisons operated by the Central Intelligence Agency, generally outside of US territory and legal jurisdiction...
' prisons on Diego Garcia..."
The Guardian quoted British
Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
Andrew TyrieAndrew Guy Tyrie is a politician in the United Kingdom. He is Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Chichester, and was first elected in the 1997 general election. He had previously been a special adviser at HM Treasury....
, "Time and time again the UK government has relied on US assurances on this issue, refusing to examine the truth of these allegations for themselves. It is high time our government took its head out of the sand and looked into these allegations."
On July 31, 2008 Time Magazine reported that a former White House official stated that the U.S. had imprisoned and interrogated at least one suspect on Diego Garcia during 2002 and possibly 2003.
Rendition admission by F.O.
On February 21, 2008, British Foreign Secretary
David MilibandDavid Wright Miliband is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for South Shields since 2001, and is the current Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs...
admitted that two US extraordinary rendition flights refuelled on Diego Garcia in 2002. Further, it has been implied that these actions constituted a direct breach of the treaty between the US and the UK concerning Diego Garcia.
Further allegations from U.N. Official
Manfred NowakManfred Nowak is an Austrian human rights lawyer.Nowak is a Professor at the University of Vienna, where he is Professor of Constitutional Law and Human Rights....
, the United Nations' special rapporteur on torture, says that credible evidence exists supporting allegations about the use of Diego Garcia as a prison
black siteIn military terminology, a black site is a location at which a black project is conducted. Recently the term has gained notoriety in describing secret prisons operated by the Central Intelligence Agency, generally outside of US territory and legal jurisdiction...
for alleged terrorists.
Clara Gutteridge, an investigator with human rights group Reprieve, states that US-operated ships moored outside the territorial waters of Diego Garcia were used to incarcerate and torture detainees.
Arrests
On 12 March 2008,
The GuardianThe Guardian is a British daily newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Founded in 1821, it is unique among major British newspapers in being owned by a foundation .The Guardian Weekly, which circulates worldwide, provides a compact digest of four newspapers...
reported that two British protesters had been arrested for "entering the waters [of Diego Garcia] illegally".
Strategic importance
During the
Cold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic competition existing after World War II , primarily between the USSR and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, including the United States...
era, the United States was keen on establishing a military base in the Indian Ocean. Because of Diego Garcia's proximity to India, the United States saw the island as a strategically important one. U.S. military activities in Diego Garcia have caused friction between India and U.S. in the past. Various political parties in India repeatedly demanded that the U.S. dismantle the military base as they saw U.S. naval presence in Diego Garcia as a potential threat to India's dominance of the Indian Ocean.
After the end of the Cold War, relations between India and U.S. improved dramatically. Diego Garcia was the site of several naval exercises between the U.S. and
Indian NavyThe Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. It currently has approximately 55,000 personnel on active duty, including 5,000 members of the naval aviation branch and 2,000 marine commandos, making it the world's fifth largest navy...
held between 2001 and 2004.
Diego Garcia is also located relatively close to the Middle East, and experienced rapid military build-ups during the beginnings of the Iranian revolution and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
Diego Garcia has several current missions. U.S. Air Force bombers and air refueling planes operate from the 3,650 m (12,000 ft) runway, and the USAF Space Command has built a satellite tracking station and communications facility.
The atoll shelters the 14 ships of Marine Prepositioning Squadron Two. These ships carry the equipment and supplies to support a major armed force with tanks, armored personnel carriers, munitions, fuel, spare parts and even a mobile field hospital. This equipment was used during the
Persian Gulf WarThe Persian Gulf War , known also as the Gulf War, the First Gulf War,or often as the Second Gulf War and by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as The Mother of all Battles, or commonly as Desert Storm, for the military response...
, when the Squadron quickly delivered its equipment to
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south...
. There, soldiers flown on air transports from U.S. and European bases quickly unloaded and deployed the pre-positioned material.
Pre-positioned vessels
There are five cargo vessels that each carry
Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for providing force projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
supplies sufficient to support a
Marine Air-Ground Task ForceThe Marine Air-Ground Task Force is a term used by the United States Marine Corps to describe the principal organization for all missions across the range of military operations. MAGTFs are a balanced air-ground, combined arms task organization of Marine Corps forces under a single commander that...
for 30 days.
- MV Anderson
- MV Baugh
- MV Bonnyman
- MV Hauge
- MV Phillips
The four combat force ships provide rapid-response delivery of U.S. Army equipment to ground troops. Three are
Lighter aboard shipThe lighter aboard ship system refers to the practice of loading barges aboard a larger vessel for transport. It was developed in response to a need to transport lighters, a type of unpowered barge, between inland waterways separated by open seas...
s (LASH) which carry barges called
LighterA lighter is a type of flat-bottomed barge used to transfer goods to and from moored ships. Lighters were traditionally unpowered and were moved and steered using long oars called “sweeps,” with their motive power provided by water currents...
s that contain Army ammunition to be ferried ashore.
- MV American Cormorant
- SS Green Harbour, (LASH)
- SS Green Valley, (LASH)
- MV Jeb Stuart, (LASH)
Five logistics vessels service the rapid delivery requirements of the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and
Defense Logistics AgencyThe Defense Logistics Agency is an agency in the United States Department of Defense, with about 22,000 civilian and military personnel throughout the world...
. There are two Air Force
container shipContainer ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.- History :...
s for munitions, missiles and spare parts; a 500-bed
hospital shipA hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a medical treatment facility or hospital; most are operated by the military forces or navies of various countries around the world, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones...
, and two floating storage and offloading units assigned to
Military Sealift CommandThe Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...
supporting the
Defense Logistics AgencyThe Defense Logistics Agency is an agency in the United States Department of Defense, with about 22,000 civilian and military personnel throughout the world...
, including an offshore petroleum discharge system (OPDS) tanker ship.
- MV Buffalo Soldier
MV Buffalo Soldier is a United States Navy Military Sealift Command Maritime Prepositioning ship. MV Buffalo Soldier is named in honor of the first peacetime African-American regiments which were formed following the American Civil War....
, container
- MV Fisher container
- MV Green Ridge, hospital
- USNS Henry J. Kaiser, tanker
- SS Potomac, OPDS tanker
GPS
Diego Garcia is one of the five control bases for the
Global Positioning SystemThe Global Positioning System is a U.S. space-based global navigation satellite system. It provides reliable positioning, navigation, and timing services to worldwide users on a continuous basis in all weather, day and night, anywhere on or near the Earth.GPS is made up of three parts: between 24...
, operated by the US military. The US Air Force also has monitoring stations in
HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states, and is the only state made up entirely of islands. It is located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. The state was admitted to the Union on August...
,
KwajaleinKwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, nicknamed Kwaj by English-speaking residents of the U.S...
,
Ascension IslandAscension Island is an isolated island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean, around from the coast of Africa, and from the coast of South America. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Saint Helena, which is to...
, and Colorado Springs,
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”...
. The stations synchronise and update the atomic clocks on the 24 orbiting satellites that emit the signals used by GPS receivers.
ETOPS Emergency Landing Site
Diego Garcia may be identified as an ETOPS (Extended Range Twin Engine Operations) emergency landing site (en route alternate) for flight planning purposes of commercial airliners. This allows twin engine commercial aircraft (such as the
Airbus A330The Airbus A330 is a large-capacity, wide-body, twin-engine, medium-to-long-range commercial passenger airliner. Built at Toulouse in France by Airbus, over 600 units have been delivered....
,
Boeing 767The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twinjet airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the 767 can carry between 181 and 375 passengers, and have a range of 5,200 to 6,590 nautical miles depending on variant and seating configuration. The Boeing 767 has been...
or
Boeing 777The Boeing 777 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The world's largest twinjet and commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven", the aircraft can carry between 301 and 368 passengers in a three-class configuration and has a range from...
) to make theoretical nonstop flights between city pairs such as
PerthPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. With a population of 1,650,000 , Perth ranks fourth amongst the nation's cities, with a growth rate consistently above the national average....
and
DubaiDubai is one of the seven emirates and the most populous state of the United Arab Emirates . It is located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula. The Dubai Municipality is sometimes called Dubai state to distinguish it from the emirate...
(9,013.61km),
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
and
JohannesburgJohannesburg also known as Jozi or Jo'burg, is the largest city in South Africa. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
(10,658km) or
SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, lying north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At , Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast...
and Sao Paolo (15,985.41km), all while maintaining a suitable diversion airport within 180 minutes flying time with one engine inoperable.
Space Shuttle
The island is one of 33 emergency landing sites worldwide for the
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
Space ShuttleThe Space Shuttle, part of the Space Transportation System , is a spacecraft operated by NASA for orbital human spaceflight missions. It began operations in the 1980s and is scheduled to be retired from service in 2010 after 134 launches...
. None of these facilities have been used for a Shuttle landing.
Cargo service
Since 2004 the MV
Baffin Strait, often referred to as the "DGAR shuttle," has been chartered to deliver 250 containers each month from
SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, lying north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At , Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast...
to Diego Garcia. The ship carries everything from fresh food to building supplies to aircraft parts, delivering more than 200,000 tons of cargo to the island each year." On the return trip to Singapore she carries recyclable metals.
In 2004
TransAtlantic LinesTransAtlantic Lines LLC is an American shipping company based in Greenwich, Connecticut. The limited liability company was founded in 1998 by vice-president Gudmundur Kjaernested and president Brandon C. Rose. The company owns and operates 5 vessels, including one tug-and-barge combination...
outbid
Sealift IncorporatedSealift Incorporated is a American shipping company based in Oyster Bay, New York. The privately-held corporation was founded in 1975 by the four owners who remain the principal executives. Sealift Inc. is one of the largest ocean contractors for transporting U.S. food aid and participates in the...
for the transport contract between Singapore and Diego Garcia. The route had previously been serviced by Sealift Inc.'s
MV Sagamore, manned by members of
American Maritime OfficersAmerican Maritime Officers is a national labor union affiliated with the Seafarers International Union of North America. With an active membership of approximately 4,000, AMO is the largest union of merchant marine officers in the U.S. and primarily represents licensed mariners working in the...
and Seafarers' International Union. TransAtlantic Lines reportedly won the contract by approximately 10 percent, representing a price difference of about US$2.7 million.
The Baffin Straits last charter ran from January 10, 2005 to September 30, 2008 at a daily rate of US$12,550.
Wildlife
The island is a haven for several types of
crabCrabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax.Crabs have a soft body covered with a hard shell. They are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton, and armed with a...
; hermit crabs overrun the jungle at night. The extremely large 4 kg
coconut crabThe coconut crab, Birgus latro, is the largest land-living arthropod in the world, and is probably at the upper limit of how big terrestrial animals with exoskeletons can become in today's atmosphere. The species inhabits the coastal forest regions of many Indo-Pacific islands, although localized...
, or "robber crab" is found here. There is a large number of red crabs everywhere in the island though it is not known to which
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
they belong. They can be seen everywhere (tents, showers, laundry rooms, runway, etc.) The island hosts birds from many different regions, including Indian Barred Ground Dove (Geopelia striata
), Turtle DoveThe Turtle Dove , also known as European Turtle Dove is a member of the bird family Columbidae, which includes the doves and pigeons....
(Streptopelia picturata
), Indian Mynah (Acridotheres tristis
), Madagascar FodyThe Madagascar Fody Foudia madagascariensis, sometimes known as the Red Cardinal Fody or Common Fody is a small bird native to Madagascar....
(Foudia madagascariensis
), and imported chickens (Gallus gallus).
All the flora and fauna are protected, and it is even unlawful to be in possession of a dead coconut crab. Hefty fines are levied against violators.
Diego Garcia was designated a Ramsar Site on July 4, 2001 (354 km
2).
See also
- Depopulation of Diego Garcia
The Diego Garcia depopulation controversy pertains to the expulsion of the established inhabitants of the island of Diego Garcia, part of the British Indian Ocean Territory , during the 1960s and 1970s...
- RAF Gan
The former Royal Air Force Station Gan commonly known as RAF Gan, was a Royal Air Force military airbase on Gan Island, the southern-most island of Addu Atoll which is part of the larger groups of islands which form the Maldives, in the middle of the Indian Ocean.-History:The area was originally...
- James Horsburgh
James Horsburgh was a Scottish hydrographer. He worked for East India Company, who mapped many seaways around Singapore in the late 18th century and early 19th century....
- Robert Moresby
Robert Moresby was a distinguished captain of the British Royal Navy. He was also an excellent hydrographer, maritime surveyor and draughtsman....
- Stealing a Nation
Stealing a Nation is a documentary film by journalist filmmaker John Pilger about the expulsion of Chagos Islanders. They were forcibly removed by the British government between 1967 and 1973 to Mauritius, 1,000 miles away, so that the island could be used as an American and British airbase.In...
External links
- Let Them Return - The Chagos People's Homeland Campaign
- The UK Chagos Support Association: The story so far
- Chagos Islands Indigenous Population Internet Site
- Diego Garcia Online: Information for locals of Diego Garcia.
- Official site of the United States Navy Support Facility, Diego Garcia.
- Official site of the UK PJHQ Overseas Bases, Diego Garcia.
- Diego Garcia timeline posted at the History Commons
- Diego Garcia "Camp Justice", GlobalSecurity.org
- US/UK BIOT defence agreements, 1966-1982, U.S. Court filing
- Where in the World Is Diego Garcia?, Infoplease.com
- Diego Garcia: Paradise Cleansed, by John Pilger
- The Jewel in the Pentagon's Crown, by Gisle Tangenes, BitsofNews.com
- Atoll Research Bulletin 149: Geography and Ecology of Diego Garcia Atoll
- A Return from Exile in Sight? The Chagossians and their Struggle, from the Northwestern Journal of International Human Rights
- Alex Doherty 'Diego Garcia', in ZNet
- Curtis, Mark Web of Deceit: Britain's Real Role in the World. London:Vintage, 2003.
- BBC News Exiles lose appeal over benefits 02/11/07
- The Island is a jazz opera commissioned and broadcast in the 60's on radio themed on events in Garcia Diego written by William Russo, words Adrian Mitchell performed by the Russo Orchestra sung by Cleo Lane and Denis Quilley
- http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080707.NUKE07/TPStory/National
- A Black and Disgraceful Site by Jonathan Freedland
Jonathan Saul Freedland is a British journalist, who writes a weekly column for The Guardian and a monthly piece for the Jewish Chronicle. Freedland has previously written for The Daily Mirror and as of September 2005, he writes each Thursday for the London Evening Standard...
from The New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs published in New York City. It takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity...
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