Country Info:
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India Ocean Territory(British) Location:
The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Africa and Indonesia. The territory comprises the six atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 individual islands.
The largest island is Diego Garcia, the site of a joint military facility of the United Kingdom and the United States.
India Ocean Territory(British) Geography:
The territory is an archipelago of 55 islands, the largest being Diego Garcia, accounting for almost threequarters of the total land area of the territory, which is 60 km. The terrain is flat and low, with most areas not exceeding 2 metres above sea level. The climate is tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds.
With the exception of one four-lane motorway, the only one of its kind in the South Indian Ocean, most of the islands in the territory have no roads of any sort. Diego Garcia has a short stretch of paved road between the port and airfield; otherwise most transport is by bicycle.
Diego Garcia's military base is home to the territory's only airport (one paved runway over 3000 metres long) and only major port.
India Ocean Territory(British) Government:
As a territory of the United Kingdom, the head of state is Queen Elizabeth II. There is no Governor appointed to represent the Queen on the territory, as there are no native inhabitants. The head of government is the Commissioner, currently Leigh Turner (since July 2006, replacing Tony Crombie) and Administrator Tony Humphries (since February 2005, replacing Charles A. Hamilton), all of whom reside in the UK. The Commissioner's representative in the Territory is the officer commanding the detachment of British forces.
The laws of the territory are based on the constitution, set out in the British Indian Ocean Territory (Constitution) Order 2004, which gives the Commissioner full powers to make laws for the Territory.[5] Applicable treaties between the United Kingdom and the United States govern the use of the military base. The United States is required to ask permission of the United Kingdom to use the base for offensive military action.
The UK has an agreement with Mauritius to return the territory in the event that they are no longer required for defence purposes.
India Ocean Territory(British) Economy:
All economic activity is concentrated on Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defence facilities are located. Approximately 2,000 native inhabitants, known as the Chagosians or Ilois, were removed to Mauritius before construction of UK-US military facilities; in 1995, there were approximately 1700 UK and US military personnel and 1500 civilian contractors living on the island. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. The licensing of commercial fishing provides an annual income of about one million dollars for the Territory.[7] Separate telephone facilities for military and public needs are available, providing all standard commercial telephone services, including connection to the Internet. International telephone service is carried by satellite. The Territory has three radio broadcast stations, one AM and two FM, and one television broadcast station. Its Internet country code (top-level domain) is .io.
Postage stamps have been issued for British Indian Ocean Territory since 17 January 1968.
India Ocean Territory(British) More Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Indian_Ocean_Territory
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