Britain cedes sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius
Critics slam Sir Keir Starmer’s ceding of British territory, Chagos Islands, to Mauritius, claiming it enhances China’s authority in the Indo-Pacific region.
Tory grandees have led a widespread chorus of opposition to Sir Keir Starmer’s government’s “astonishing” decision on Thursday to cede British sovereignty of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to a Chinese ally, Mauritius.
British foreign secretary David Lammy insisted that giving up sovereignity of the Chagos Islands was essential for security reasons, with a new 99 year lease allowing continuing operations on the Diego Garcia base, which had been leased by Britain to the United States since the early 1970s. To allow this Britain would make a package of annual payments to Mauritius and invest in various infrastructure projects.
A joint statement by Sir Keir and the Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth said: “Under the terms of this treaty the United Kingdom will agree that Mauritius is sovereign over the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia.” The deal was given a stamp of approval by US president Joe Biden.
However in Britain there was immediate anger as the treaty had not been debated extensively in the parliament. There were fears Britain had not only given up a valuable piece of land it had controlled since 1814 for spurious reasons, it had played straight into the hands of China.
The Tories had initiated Chagos discussions with Mauritius two years ago when Mauritian arguments for sovereignty were recognised by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN general assembly and the international tribunal of the law of the sea but the Tories had agreed not to pursue it because of security issues concerning China’s interests in the area.
There was also concern that the local Chagossian people, who were expelled from the islands half a century ago to make way for the military base, were being used as a legal ploy by Mauritius.
The new deal allows for Port Louis to begin resettlement of displaced people to the other small islands in the Chagos atoll, but not Diego Garcia.
However in a statement on Thursday, Chagossian Voices, a diaspora group based in Britain criticised the deal: “we deplore the exclusion of the Chagossian community from the negotiations which have produced this statement of intent concerning the sovereignty of our homeland. Chagossians have learned this outcome from the media and remain powerless and voiceless in determining our own future and the future of our homeland. The views of Chagossians, the indigenous inhabitants of the islands, have been consistently and deliberately ignored and we demand full inclusion in the drafting of the treaty.”
The conservative think tank Policy Exchange’s Professor Richard Ekins said the British government’s move was “a legally unforced bad strategic error”. He said: “The UK is under no legal or moral obligation to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and should not be intimidated into doing so, at significant cost to vital strategic interests, by the abuse of the International Court of Justice’s advisory jurisdiction”. Previously the UN had also claimed other British territory, the Falkland Islands, belonged to Argentina.
More broadly there are environmental concerns about the future of long standing fishing protections around the atolls which Britain had enforced.
But Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the deal had removed the contested sovereignty and ongoing legal challenges.
“Today’s agreement secures this vital military base for the future,’’ he said, insisting that he was also removing a migration route to the United Kingdom.
“It will strengthen our role in safeguarding global security, shut down any possibility of the Indian Ocean being used as a dangerous illegal migration route to the UK, as well as guaranteeing our long-term relationship with Mauritius, a close Commonwealth partner.”
Many disagreed. Conservative leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch said: “Two days after Israel is attacked directly by Iran, Labour have put our vital base in the Indian Ocean at risk. Anyone who has been paying attention to the geopolitical climate will understand the strategic necessity of these islands. Labour has either not been paying attention or don’t care. Either way, this decision weakens UK influence across the world.”
One senior Tory Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who has been sanctioned by China, said the agreement was astonishing. He said: “At the heart of this lies the real threat from China and we have a government of Mauritius that is very pro-China.
“If China gets involved with Mauritius, I cannot see how you can continue to use that place as it is now or how the Americans can either.”
The former defence minister Grant Shapps said: This is absolutely appalling. Surrendering sovereignty here creates read across to other British bases. It’s a weak and deeply regrettable act from this government”.
Yet the deal was given approval by the United States. US president Joe Biden said it would lead to “peaceful and mutually beneficial outcomes”.
Mr Biden said: “I applaud the historic agreement and conclusion of the negotiations between the Republic of Mauritius and the United Kingdom on the status of the Chagos Archipelago.
“It is a clear demonstration that through diplomacy and partnership, countries can overcome longstanding historical challenges to reach peaceful and mutually beneficial outcomes.
“This agreement affirms Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, while granting the United Kingdom the authority to exercise the sovereign rights of Mauritius with respect to Diego Garcia.
“Diego Garcia is the site of a joint US-UK military facility that plays a vital role in national, regional, and global security. It enables the United States to support operations that demonstrate our shared commitment to regional stability, provide rapid response to crises, and counter some of the most challenging security threats we face. The agreement secures the effective operation of the joint facility on Diego Garcia into the next century.
“We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with Mauritius and the United Kingdom in upholding a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
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