Agalega District

Agaléga exists at the intersection of coconuts and geopolitics—two islands 1,100 kilometers north of Mauritius where 330 residents sustain themselves through fishing and copra while India constructs what both governments insist is merely a 'logistics facility.' The 2015 Memorandum of Understanding between India and Mauritius initiated development that satellite imagery by 2024 reveals as a 3,000-meter airstrip capable of hosting Boeing P-8I Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, plus a deep-water jetty accommodating naval warships. India invested $87 million to create capability in a region previously blind spot for its navy—the southwestern Indian Ocean where 80% of global maritime oil trade passes through key chokepoints. The February 2024 inauguration formalized Agaléga's transformation from coconut plantation to surveillance outpost, part of India's 'Necklace of Diamonds' strategy countering China's 'String of Pearls' port investments around the Indian Ocean rim. Local Mauritian activists raise concerns echoing the 1965 Chagos separation, when Britain detached Diego Garcia for Anglo-American military use—trauma that haunts any discussion of foreign bases on Mauritian territory. On December 11, 2024, Cyclone Chido devastated North Island, destroying most homes and leaving the islands without power. By 2026, Agaléga demonstrates how geographic position can transform irrelevant territory into strategic asset: 300 people who once mattered only to copra traders now find themselves on the frontlines of Indian Ocean great power competition.