The British government plans to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, despite the new leader of Mauritius backing away from the deal. The agreement would transfer sovereignty of the strategically important Indian Ocean archipelago, including the U.K.-U.S. naval and bomber base on Diego Garcia. The Mauritian government, led by Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, is reopening negotiations and has submitted counterproposals. The U.K. Foreign Office Minister is confident that a good and fair deal will be finalized. The Chagos Islands have been under British control since 1814 and were used by the U.S. military for operations in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.