Diego Garcia

Diego García is an island considered the largest atoll, in terms of land area, of the Chagos Archipelago, and is part of the British Indian Ocean Territories. The island is located in the Indian Ocean, about 1,600 km south of the southern coast of India. Other countries in the vicinity of Diego Garcia include Sri Lanka and Maldives. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach and explore the island of Diego Garcia, with the discovery attributed to the navigator Pêro de Mascarenhas 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 Kingdom and detached from Mauritius with the intention of expelling its entire population and establishing a military base. In 1971 the United Kingdom and United States entered an agreement under which the latter would set up a military base in Diego Garcia.