Google may re-label disputed archipelago

A row has broken out over the labelling of the disputed Chagos Islands on Google maps. The UK maintains that it still holds sovereignty over what it terms British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) – one of the smallest of red dots on the traditional cartographic globe. However, Mauritius, which has been recognised as legitimate owner of the archipelago in a series of international court judgments and UN votes since 2019, has formally asked Google to re-describe the islands as part of its territory. Letters seen by The Guardian have been sent to the search engine’s California headquarters requesting that BIOT, which includes the strategic US military base of Diego Garcia, be wiped off the map. It included as evidence references to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The judgment said the UK ‘unlawfully’ detached the Chagos Islands from Mauritius prior to granting it independence in 1968. Jagdish Koonjul, the Mauritian ambassador to the UN, said ‘we never received a reply’. ‘It’s disappointing. One would have assumed that Google would be the ideal place to obtain information and that whatever they are (displaying) would be accurate. What they are showing is incorrect.’ The Google Maps search engine, when it locates BIOT, merely explains that it is ‘a disputed British Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia’. Apple Maps, by contrast, agreed to change its labelling. Searches for both ‘BIOT’ and ‘British Indian Ocean Territory’ on Apple Maps produce the response ‘No results found’.