LONDON (AP) — A British court said Thursday that the U.K. can transfer sovereignty over the contested and strategically located Chagos Islands to Mauritius, overturning a block that was imposed hours before the agreement was due to be signed.

The Chagos Islands are in the middle of the Indian Ocean and home to a strategic military base on Diego Garcia.

The UK on Thursday signed an agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back the Diego Garcia military base, critical to the UK and the US, for an average of 101 million pounds