§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the names of the islands within the British Indian Ocean Territory, the area of each, and population divided into ethnic groups; any natural resources; existing and intended civil and defence installations; and any agreements made with the United States of American or other powers concerning their use.
§ Mrs. HartThe British Indian Ocean Territory consists of the Chagos Archipelago, the Farquhar Group, the Aldabra Group and the Island of Desroches. The Chagos Archipelago covers an area from 7° 39' to 4° 41' S. and from 70° 50' to 72° 41' E.; the largest island, Diego Garcia, has a land area of about 11 square miles. The Farquhar Group, the Aldabra Group and the Island of Desroches have land areas of about 1½ square miles, 67½ square miles and 1½ square miles respectively.
The population of the islands is at present approximately 1,500. It fluctuates, as it consists mainly of contract labour, and their dependants, from Mauritius and Seychelles employed on the copra estates and in guano extraction and the turtle industry. The populations are of mixed African, European, Chinese and Indian origin.
No decisions to build civil or defence installations have been taken.
An agreement between the United Kingdom and United States Governments concerning the availability of the Territory for defence purposes was entered into recently; it was published as Cmnd. 3231.