Blitz Bureau
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has signed a deal to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back a key military base for £101m a year, reported BBC. Starmer said the deal was the only way to maintain the base’s long-term future and strengthened the UK’s national security.
Under the terms of the agreement Mauritius would gain sovereignty of the islands from the UK, but allow the US and UK to continue operating a military base on one of the islands, Diego Garcia, for an initial period of 99 years. India has welcomed the deal. In its reaction, India said it has consistently supported Mauritius’s “legitimate claim” over the Chagos Archipelago in keeping with its principled position on “decolonisation, respect for sovereignty, and the territorial integrity of nations”, according to NDTV.
“We welcome the signing of the treaty between the UK and Mauritius on the return of Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. Meanwhile, the Conservatives have described the deal as “an act of national self-harm”, which left the UK “more exposed to China” because of its ties with Mauritius. The UK signed the agreement after overcoming a last-minute legal challenge brought by two Chagossians.
The UK purchased the islands for £3m in 1968, but Mauritius has argued it was illegally forced to give away the islands in order to get independence from Britain, according to BBC. The islands were then cleared to make way for a UK-US armed forces base with large groups of Chagossians moving to Mauritius and the Seychelles, or taking up an invitation to settle in England, mainly in Crawley, West Sussex.
The Government said it would pay Mauritius an average of £101m a year for 99 years, which Starmer said amounted to a “net cost” of £3.4bn after adjusting for factors including inflation. The Prime Minister told a news conference the UK had to “act now” or face Mauritian legal action that could interfere with the Diego Garcia base.
Speaking from the UK’s Northwood military headquarters, Starmer said, “President Trump has welcomed the deal along with other allies, because they see the strategic importance of this base and that we cannot cede the ground to others who would seek to do us harm.”
He added, “If we did not agree this deal the legal situation would mean that we would not be able to prevent China or any other nation setting up their own bases on the outer islands or carrying out joint exercises near our base. “No responsible government could let that happen.” The deal sets a 24-mile buffer around Diego Garcia, where nothing can be built without UK consent.
