Foreign Office minister says Chagos deal on track

The UK government has insisted that Mauritius is ready to finalize a deal on the future of the Chagos Islands, despite demands for better terms by the country’s new Prime Minister.

Under the agreement announced in October, the UK will hand over sovereignty over the islands to Mauritius, but will retain a 99-year lease on the UK-US military airbase on the largest island, Diego Garcia.

Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel told MPs it was a “huge failure of statecraft”, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said there was “very deep unease” about it among US President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming team. ” Was.

Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty argued that the deal was in the interests of all parties.

On Tuesday, Mauritius said it had made changes to original dealWhich was a blow to the then Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth shortly before he faced a massive defeat in the general elections.

His successor Naveen Ramgoolam told the Mauritius Parliament that he was “still keen to conclude an agreement”, but that the draft agreement was not good enough for his country.

He did not say what changes he was seeking.

In the Commons, Conservative Dame Preeti accused the Labor government of endangering Britain’s national security, ignoring the interests of Chagossians and “letting our position weaken” in an increasingly dangerous world.

“If the deal is so good, why is the government so secretive about the details?” he asked.

“Will we and the United States still have full autonomy of operations? What security measures will be taken to prevent other countries, including China, from potentially trying to establish a military base on or near Diego Garcia?

“How much will the British taxpayer be liable for each year and overall over 99 years?” He also asked.

Doughty stressed that the deal would enhance, not harm, Britain’s security, adding that it would protect the operation of the military base and ensure it remains “in a secure state well into the next century”.

He said Britain would be able to extend its lease beyond 99 years, Britain and its allies would continue to have operational autonomy, and “safeguards” are in place to prevent other countries’ forces from operating on the archipelago’s outer islands.

He said it was “not common practice” to comment on the cost of military bases.

Doughty told MPs it was “completely understandable” that the new Mauritius government would want time to study the details of the agreement, adding that he was confident “we have agreed a good and fair deal that It is in the interest of both parties”.

“It protects the base at a proportionate cost. It is supported in the national security framework in the United States and India,” he said.

However, Just returned from visiting Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort Speaking to Elon Musk and other allies of the president-elect, Farage challenged this.

“There is deep unease among all of them about what this might mean for the long-term future of Diego Garcia and whether such an agreement would be sustainable, given the precedent of the collapse of the deal over Hong Kong,” he told lawmakers. “

The Reform UK leader also suggested that the terms of the deal should be put to a referendum of the exiled Chagossians.

Last month, Farage predicted that the agreement would face “absolute hostility” by the Trump administration, which will take office on January 20.

He suggested that Trump’s advisers were concerned that this could increase China’s influence in the region.

But, on Wednesday, Doughty said Farage did not know the details of the agreement, which was also discussed by US officials.

Number 10 said it was not aware of any contact with the incoming Trump administration about the Chagos Islands deal.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said, “The focus of our discussions at this time is clearly on the new Mauritius government.”

In recent years, the UK The islands faced increasing diplomatic isolation.Various UN bodies – including the International Court of Justice and the General Assembly – support Mauritius’ claim of sovereignty.

Mauritius has long argued that it was illegally forced to give up the islands in exchange for its independence from Britain in 1968.

At the time, the British government had already negotiated a secret agreement with the US, agreeing to lease Diego Garcia for use as a military base.

Britain later apologized for the forced removal of more than 1,000 islanders from the entire archipelago and promised to hand the islands over to Mauritius when they were no longer needed for strategic purposes.