NEW DELHI -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday backed Mauritius' claim over the Chagos islands -- home to a U.S.-U.K. military base -- amid efforts to reach a formal treaty to resolve a decades-old dispute between London and Port Louis.
"A free, open, secure and safe Indian Ocean is our shared priority," Modi said in Hindi during a joint media appearance with Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, against a backdrop of China's expanding influence in the region. Modi is in the Mauritian capital for a two-day state visit through Wednesday.
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