Established in 1965, the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT)
includes the scattered islands of the Chagos Archipelago,
located south of the Equator near the center of the Indian
Ocean. The islands were formerly administered as a dependency of
Mauritius. They were detached as a separate colony in 1965 so
that Britain and the U.S. could establish a military base on
Diego Garcia, the largest atoll of the group. The U.S. has
leased this base, the U.S. Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia,
at least until 2016. Former residents of the islands were
displaced to Mauritius and Seychelles. In 2000 the British High
Court ruled that they have the right in principle to return, and
in 2006 the islanders were granted the right to visit their
former home for purposes such as tending the graves of their
ancestors. Mauritius claims sovereignty over the Chagos
Archipelago, and Britain has promised to return sovereignty to
Mauritius if the islands are no longer needed for defense
purposes. This seems quite unlikely to happen in