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24-05-2025
LONDON: Sir Keir Starmer has signed a deal to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back a key military base for £101m a year.
The prime minister 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.
The Conservatives 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.
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 Sir Keir 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, Sir Keir 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.
Foreign military and civilian forces will also be barred from other islands in the archipelago, with the UK retaining a power to veto any access to the islands.
There is also an option to extend the lease by 40 further years, if agreed by both sides.
The treaty comes into effect only after it is approved by both the UK and Mauritian parliaments.
Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam hailed the deal as a “great victory for the Mauritian nation”.
“I have always said we must obtain our sovereignty over the totality of the Chagos, including Diego Garcia,” he said.
“The Chagossians must be able to live once again on their islands.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also welcomed the deal, saying it “secures the long-term, stable and effective operation of the joint US-UK military facility at Diego Garcia, which is critical to regional and global security”.
However, the agreement has attracted strong criticism from opposition politicians in the UK, who have questioned the cost and say an important military base should not be given to a country with close links to China.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said; only Keir Starmer’s Labour would negotiate a deal where we’re paying to give something away. (Int’l News Desk)
