US Military Activities
During the Cold War era, the United States was keen to establish a military base in the Indian Ocean to counter Soviet influence in the region and protect the sea-lanes for oil transportation from the Middle East. The US saw the island as a strategically important one. The value has been proven many times, with the island providing a "fixed aircraft carrier" for the US during the Iranian revolution, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The US military facilities on Diego Garcia have been known informally as Camp Justice and, after renaming in July 2006, as Camp Thunder Cove. Formally, the base is known as Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia (the US activity) or Permanent Joint Operating Base (PJOB) Diego Garcia (the UK's term).
US military activities in Diego Garcia have caused friction between India and the US in the past. Various political parties in India repeatedly called for the military base to be dismantled, as they saw the US naval presence in Diego Garcia as a hindrance to peace in the Indian Ocean. In recent years, relations between India and the US have improved dramatically. Diego Garcia was the site of several naval exercises between the US and Indian navies held between 2001 and 2004.
Read more about this topic: Diego Garcia
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