UK signs ‘essential’ Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius, says China sought its ‘collapse’

Britain on Thursday signed a deal giving sovereignty to the strategically located Chagos Islands to Mauritius yet retaining control of a US-UK military base as it claimed China along with Russia and Iran sought to derail the agreement. British Defence Secretary John Healey at a press conference with Prime Minister Keir Starmer said allies including the US, India, Australia, New Zealand and Canada supported the agreement, while China, Russia, and Iran wanted “to see this deal collapse”. “The value of this deal is beyond doubt,” Healey added. Starmer described the multibillion-dollar pact securing British control of the US-UK military base on Diego Garcia for 99 years as an “essential investment in our national security”. Diego Garcia is the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean. The islands were once part of colonised Mauritius and controlled by Britain after Mauritius gained independence in 1968. Thereafter Britain leased the archipelago to the US for use as a military base, forcibly removing up to 2,000 residents to make way for the facility. Construction of the facility began in 1971 and was completed in 1986. In recent years, the Indo-Pacific region has emerged as a centre of geopolitical tension, with the US-led West and China vying for regional influence, maritime control and technological leadership. “By agreeing to this deal now, on our terms, we’re securing strong protections, including from malign influence, that will allow the base to operate well into the next century,” Starmer said. The base’s location was of “utmost significance” to Britain, the prime minister added, from “deploying aircraft to defeat terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan to anticipating threats in the Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific”. Criticising his rival Conservatives and Reform UK for questioning the deal, Starmer said that “surprisingly, the leader of the opposition and Nigel Farage are in that column alongside Russia, China and Iran”. The two British opposition parties have argued that the agreement was too costly and could benefit China. Under the terms, Britain would pay US$136 million annually to Mauritius. Beijing maintains close relations with Port Louis. Some in London have voiced concern that China could enjoy unrestricted access to the region’s critical shipping lanes if Mauritius got control of islands around Diego Garcia. Starmer challenged that claim, asserting that in the absence of an official deal it would have been impossible for Britain to “prevent China or any other nation setting up their own bases on the outer islands”. The US would be paying the “running costs” of the base, the British leader said, adding that “there are different contributions to different aspects”. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday welcomed the deal’s signing. “Although the United States is not a party to this agreement, we remain responsible for operating the US naval support facility on Diego Garcia,” Rubio said in a statement. The base would continue to “play a vital role in supporting forward-deployed operational forces and advancing security across the region”, America’s top diplomat added. Detailing the deal, Healey said it ensured “full control” of the seas and skies immediately around Diego Garcia as well as “protection of the electromagnetic spectrum” used for intelligence collection, communications and radars. The agreement presented an “effective veto over any developments or hostile activities”, the British defence chief added. The base on Diego Garcia – equidistant from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia – has played a pivotal role in American military operations, particularly during armed conflicts in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan. The covert base is still used by US bombers with nuclear capabilities as well as by nuclear-powered submarines. Its importance has only risen over time, amounting to a critical asset in countering China’s expanding sway in the Indo-Pacific region. After years of sovereignty disputes, Britain in October 2024 agreed to transfer control of the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius. The signing ends months of wrangling over the deal, the details of which were first announced in October, after then-Mauritian leader Pravind Jugnauth was succeeded by Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, who raised concerns about it. It was further delayed after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump in January, with London wanting to give the new American administration time to examine the plan’s details. In February, Trump indicated he backed the deal. Still, last-minute legal hurdles emerged. Just hours before Thursday’s signing, a carefully choreographed ceremony was postponed when lawyers representing a British national born in the Chagos Islands were granted an interim injunction at the High Court. The injunction was the latest legal challenge to the deal in the last two decades brought by members of the wider Chagossian diaspora, many of whom ended up in Britain after being forcibly removed from the archipelago more than 50 years ago. It was granted following action by Bertrice Pompe, a British national who was born in Diego Garcia and has criticised the deal for excluding Chagossians. Judge Martin Chamberlain then lifted that injunction following a hearing, saying Britain’s interests would be “substantially prejudiced” if the injunction were to continue. Starmer anticipated “further legal proceedings leading to binding judgments with interim orders on the way”. He warned that any legal setback for the deal could mean “interference” with operations at the base on Diego Garcia and could jeopardise its safety “within a matter of months”. Additional reporting by Reuters

UK signs ‘essential’ Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius, says China sought its ‘collapse’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Multibillion-dollar agreement for 99 years sees Britain keep control of military base on Diego Garcia jointly run with the US

Multibillion-dollar agreement for 99 years sees Britain keep control of military base on Diego Garcia jointly run with the US