What I found on the secretive tropical island they don't want you to see

Diego Garcia, a distant land successful the Indian Ocean, is simply a paradise of lush vegetation and white-sand beaches, surrounded by crystal bluish waters.

But this is nary tourer destination. It is strictly retired of bounds to astir civilians - the tract of a highly secretive UK-US subject basal shrouded for decades successful rumour and mystery.

The island, which is administered from London, is astatine the centre of a long-running territorial quality betwixt the UK and Mauritius, and negotiations person ramped up successful caller weeks.

The BBC gained unprecedented entree to the land earlier this month.

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“It’s the enemy,” a backstage information serviceman jokes arsenic I instrumentality to my country 1 nighttime connected Diego Garcia, my sanction highlighted successful yellowish connected a database helium is holding.

For months, the BBC had fought for entree to the land - the largest of the Chagos Archipelago.

We wanted to screen a historical tribunal lawsuit being held implicit the attraction of Sri Lankan Tamils, the archetypal radical ever to record asylum claims connected the island, who person been stranded determination for 3 years. Complex ineligible battles person been waged implicit their destiny and a judgement volition soon find if they person been unlawfully detained.

Up until this point, we could lone screen the communicative remotely.

Diego Garcia, which is astir 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from the nearest landmass, features connected lists of the world's astir distant islands. There are nary commercialized flights and getting determination by oversea is nary easier - permits for boats are lone granted for the archipelago’s outer islands and to let harmless transition done the Indian Ocean.

To participate the land you request a permit, lone granted to radical with connections to the subject installation oregon the British authorization that runs the territory. Journalists person historically been barred.

UK authorities lawyers brought a ineligible situation to effort to artifact the BBC from attending the hearing, and adjacent erstwhile support was granted pursuing a ruling by the territory's Supreme Court, the US aboriginal objected, saying it would not supply food, transport oregon accommodation to each those attempting to scope the land for the lawsuit - including the justice and barristers.

Notes exchanged betwixt the 2 governments this summer, seen by the BBC, suggested some were highly acrophobic astir admitting immoderate media to Diego Garcia.

“As discussed previously, the United States agrees with the presumption of HMG [His Majesty’s Government] that it would beryllium preferable for members of the property to observe the proceeding virtually from London, to minimize risks to information of the Facility,” 1 enactment sent from the US authorities to British officials said.

When support was yet granted for maine to walk 5 days connected the island, it came with stringent restrictions. These did not conscionable screen the tribunal reporting. They besides extended to my movements connected the land and adjacent a prohibition connected reporting what the existent restrictions were.

Requests for insignificant changes to the licence were denied by British and US officials.

Personnel from the information institution G4S were flown to the territory to defender the BBC and lawyers who had flown retired for the hearing.

But contempt the constraints, I was inactive capable to observe illuminating details, each of which helped to overgarment a representation of 1 of the astir restricted locations successful the world.

Approaching by plane, coconut trees and heavy foliage are disposable crossed the 44 sq km footprint-shaped atoll, the greenery punctuated by achromatic subject structures.

Diego Garcia is 1 of astir 60 islands that marque up the Chagos Archipelago oregon British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot) - the past colony established by the UK by separating it from Mauritius successful 1965. It is located astir halfway betwixt East Africa and Indonesia.

Pulling connected to the runway alongside grey subject aircraft, a motion connected a hangar greets you: “Diego Garcia. Footprint of Freedom,” supra images of the US and British flags.

This is the archetypal of galore references to state connected the island’s signage, a motion to the UK-US subject basal that has been determination since the aboriginal 1970s.

Agreements signed successful 1966 leased the land to the US for 50 years initially, with a imaginable hold for a further 20 years. The statement was rolled implicit and is acceptable to expire successful 2036.

As I marque my mode done airdrome information and beyond, US and UK influences jostle for predominance.

In the terminal, determination is simply a doorway decorated with a national jack people and walls hung with photos of important British figures, including Winston Churchill.

On the land itself, I spot British constabulary cars and a nightclub called the Brit Club with a bulldog logo. We walk roads named Britannia Way and Churchill Road.

But cars thrust connected the right, arsenic they bash successful the US. We are driven astir successful a agleam yellowish autobus reminiscent of an American schoolhouse bus.

The US dollar is the accepted currency and the energy sockets are American. The nutrient offered to america for the 5 days includes “tater tots” - a fashionable American fried-potato broadside crockery - and American biscuits, akin to British scones.

While the territory is administered from London, astir unit and resources determination are nether the power of the US.

In the BBC's bid to entree the island, UK officials referred questions up to US staff. When the US blocked the tribunal proceeding from taking spot connected Diego Garcia this summer, a elder authoritative astatine the Ministry of Defence said the UK “did not person the quality to assistance access”.

“The US information appraisal is classified… [they] person demonstrated that they person strict controls successful place,” helium wrote successful an email to a Foreign Office colleague.

Biot's acting commissioner has said it is not imaginable for him to “compel the US authorities” to assistance entree to immoderate portion of the subject installation constructed by the US nether the presumption of the UK-US agreement, contempt it being a British territory.

In caller years, the territory has been costing the UK tens of millions of pounds, with the bulk of this categorised nether “migrant costs”. Communications obtained by the BBC betwixt overseas bureau officials successful July regarding the Sri Lankan Tamils pass that “the costs are expanding and the latest forecast is that these volition beryllium £50 cardinal per annum”.

The ambiance connected the land feels relaxed. Troops and contractors thrust past maine connected bikes, and I spot radical playing tennis and windsurfing successful the precocious day sun.

A cinema advertises screenings of Alien and Borderlands, and determination is adjacent a bowling alley and a depository with a acquisition store attached, though I was not allowed inside.

We walk a fast-food spot called Jake’s Place, and a scenic spot of onshore adjacent to the oversea with a motion that reads: "Ye olde swimming spread and picnic area." Diego Garcia-branded T-shirts and mugs are connected merchantability connected the island.

But determination are besides changeless reminders of the delicate basal that is here. Military drills tin beryllium heard aboriginal successful the morning, and adjacent our accommodation artifact is simply a fenced-off gathering identified arsenic an armoury.

All the time, US and British subject officials support a adjacent oculus connected the court’s movements.

The land has startling earthy beauty, from lush vegetation to pristine achromatic beaches, and is besides location to the world’s biggest terrestrial arthropod - the coconut crab. Military unit pass of the dangers of sharks successful the surrounding waters.

Biot’s website boasts that it has the “greatest marine biodiversity successful the UK and its Overseas Territories, arsenic good arsenic immoderate of the cleanest seas and healthiest reef systems successful the world”.

But determination are besides clues pointing to its brutal past.

When the UK took power of the Chagos Islands - Diego Garcia is the southernmost - from erstwhile British colony Mauritius, it sought to rapidly evict its colonisation of much than 1,000 radical to marque mode for the subject base.

Enslaved radical were brought to the Chagos Islands from Madagascar and Mozambique to enactment connected coconut plantations nether French and British rule. In the pursuing centuries, they developed their ain language, euphony and culture.

I get to spot a erstwhile plantation connected the eastbound of the island, wherever buildings basal successful disrepair. The expansive plantation manager’s location has a motion extracurricular reading: "Danger unsafe structure. Do not enter. By order: Brit rep [representative]." A ample crab crawls up the doorway of an abandoned impermanent house.

At a religion connected the plantation site, a sign, successful French, beneath the crucifix reads: “Let america commune for our Chagossian brothers and sisters.”

Wild donkeys inactive roam successful the area. David Vine, writer of Island of Shame: The Secret History of the US Military Base connected Diego Garcia, describes them arsenic a “ghostly remnant of the nine that had been determination for astir 200 years”.

A Foreign Office memo successful 1966 stated that the entity of its program “was to get immoderate rocks which volition stay ours; determination volition beryllium nary indigenous colonisation but seagulls”.

A British diplomat responded that the islands were location lone to “some fewer Tarzans oregon Man Fridays whose origins are obscure and are hopefully being wished connected to Mauritius”.

Another authorities papers stated that the islands were chosen “not lone for their strategical determination but besides due to the fact that they had, for each applicable purposes, nary imperishable population”.

“The Americans successful peculiar attached large value to this state of manoeuvre, divorced from the mean considerations applying to a populated babelike territory,” it said.

Mr Vine says the plans came astatine a clip erstwhile the “decolonisation question was unfolding and accelerating” and the US was acrophobic astir losing entree to subject bases astir the world.

Diego Garcia was 1 of galore islands that were considered, helium says, but it became the “prime candidate” due to the fact that of its comparatively tiny colonisation and strategical determination successful the mediate of the Indian Ocean.

For the UK, helium says, it was a accidental to support adjacent subject ties with the US, adjacent with lone a “token British presence” determination - but determination was besides fiscal motivation, helium adds.

The US agreed to a $14m discount connected the UK’s acquisition of its Polaris atomic missiles arsenic portion of the concealed woody implicit the islands.

In 1967, the eviction of each residents from the Chagos islands began. Dogs, including pets, were rounded up and killed. Chagossians person described being herded onto cargo ships and taken to Mauritius oregon the Seychelles.

The UK granted citizenship to immoderate Chagossians successful 2002, and galore of them came to unrecorded successful the UK.

In grounds fixed to the International Court of Justice years later, Chagossian Liseby Elysé said radical connected the archipelago had lived a “happy life” that “did not deficiency anything” earlier the expulsions.

“One time the head told america that we had to permission our island, permission our houses and spell away. All persons were unhappy. But we had nary choice. They did not springiness america immoderate reason,” she said. “Nobody would similar to beryllium uprooted from the land wherever helium was born, to beryllium uprooted similar animals.”

Chagossians person fought for years to instrumentality to the land.

Mauritius, which won independency from the UK successful 1968, maintains that the islands are its ain and the United Nations' highest tribunal has ruled, successful an advisory opinion, that the UK's medication of the territory is "unlawful" and indispensable end.

It said the Chagos Islands should beryllium handed implicit to Mauritius successful bid to implicit the UK's “decolonisation”.

Clive Baldwin, elder ineligible advisor astatine Human Rights Watch, says the “forced displacement of the Chagossians by the UK and US, their persecution connected the grounds of race, and the ongoing prevention of their instrumentality to their homeland magnitude to crimes against humanity”.

“These are the astir superior crimes a authorities tin beryllium liable for. It is an ongoing, assemblage transgression arsenic agelong arsenic they forestall the Chagossians from returning home.”

The UK authorities has antecedently stated that it has “no doubt” arsenic to its assertion implicit the islands, which had been “under continuous British sovereignty since 1814”.

However, successful 2022, it agreed to unfastened negotiations with Mauritius implicit the aboriginal of the territory, with then-Foreign Secretary James Cleverly saying helium wanted to “resolve each outstanding issues”.

Earlier this month, the authorities announced that erstwhile Prime Minister Tony Blair’s main of staff, Jonathan Powell, who played a cardinal relation successful negotiating the Good Friday statement successful Northern Ireland, had been appointed to negociate with Mauritius implicit the islands.

In a statement, caller Foreign Secretary David Lammy - who has criticised erstwhile governments for having for years “ignored the opinions” of assorted UN bodies implicit the islands - said the UK was endeavouring to “reach a colony that protects UK interests and those of our partners”, arsenic helium stressed the request to support the “long-term, unafraid and effectual cognition of the associated UK/US subject base”.

Matthew Savill, subject sciences manager astatine starring UK defence deliberation vessel Rusi, says Diego Garcia is an “enormously important” base, “because of its presumption successful the Indian Ocean and the facilities it has: port, retention and airfield”.

The nearest UK installation is immoderate 3,400km (2,100 miles) away, and for the US, astir 4,800km (3,000 miles), helium explains, with the land besides an important determination for “space tracking and reflection capabilities”.

Tankers operating from Diego Garcia refuelled US B-2 bombers that had flown from the US to transportation retired the archetypal airstrikes connected Afghanistan aft the 9/11 attacks. And, during the consequent “war connected terror”, craft were besides sent straight from the land itself to Afghanistan and Iraq.

The basal is besides 1 of an “extremely constricted fig of places worldwide disposable to reload submarines” with weapons similar Tomahawk missiles, says Mr Savill, and the US has positioned a ample magnitude of instrumentality and stores determination for contingencies.

Walter Ladwig III, a elder lecturer successful planetary relations astatine King’s College London, agrees the basal fulfils “a batch of important roles” - but that “there is this level of secrecy that seems to spell beyond what we spot astatine different places”.

“There has been this hyper-focus connected controlling entree and connected limiting access, which… seems to spell beyond what, fixed what we publically cognize astir the assets, capabilities and units are based there.”

During my clip connected the island, I americium required to deterioration a reddish visitant walk and americium intimately monitored astatine each times. My accommodation is guarded 24-hours-a-day and the men extracurricular marque a enactment of erstwhile I permission and instrumentality - ever nether escort.

In the mid-1980s, British writer Simon Winchester pretended his vessel had tally into occupation adjacent to the island. He remained successful the bay for astir 2 days, and managed to concisely measurement connected enactment earlier being escorted distant and told: “Go distant and don’t travel back.”

He tells maine helium remembers British authorities determination being “incredibly hostile” and the land arsenic “extraordinarily beautiful”. More than 2 decades later, a Time mag writer spent 90 minutes oregon truthful connected the land erstwhile the US statesmanlike level stopped determination to refuel.

Rumours person agelong swirled astir the uses of Diego Garcia, including that it has been utilized arsenic a CIA black-site - a installation utilized to location and interrogate panic suspects.

The UK authorities confirmed successful 2008 that rendition flights carrying panic suspects had landed connected the land successful 2002, pursuing years of assurances that they had not.

“The detainees did not permission the plane, and the US Government has assured america that nary US detainees person ever been held connected Diego Garcia. US investigations amusement nary grounds of immoderate different rendition done Diego Garcia oregon immoderate different Overseas Territory oregon done the UK itself since then,” then-Foreign Secretary David Miliband told parliament astatine the time.

On the aforesaid day, erstwhile CIA manager Michael Hayden said that accusation antecedently “supplied successful bully faith” to the UK astir rendition flights - stating that they had ne'er landed determination - had “turned retired to beryllium wrong”.

“Neither of those individuals was ever portion of [the] CIA's high-value violent interrogation programme. One was yet transferred to Guantanamo, and the different was returned to his location country. These were rendition operations, thing more,” helium said, portion denying reports that the CIA had a holding installation connected Diego Garcia.

Years later, Lawrence Wilkerson, main of unit to the erstwhile US Secretary of State Colin Powell, told Vice News that quality sources had told him that Diego Garcia had been utilized arsenic a tract “where radical were temporarily housed and interrogated from clip to time.”

I was not allowed adjacent immoderate of Diego Garcia’s delicate subject areas.

After leaving my land accommodation for the past clip I received an email, thanking maine for my caller enactment and asking for feedback. “We privation each impermanent to acquisition thing little than a welcoming and comfy experience,” it read.

Before flying out, my passport was stamped with the territory’s overgarment of arms. Its motto reads: “In tutela nostra Limuria”, meaning “Limuria is successful our charge” - a notation to a mythical mislaid continent successful the Indian Ocean.

A continent that doesn’t beryllium seems similar a fitting awesome for an land whose ineligible presumption is successful uncertainty and that few, since the Chagossians were expelled, person been allowed to see.