United Kingdom: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has defended the government’s decision to cede control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, facing backlash from Conservative leadership hopefuls over the move.
Starmer emphasised that the agreement secures the long-term future of the strategically crucial US-UK military base on Diego Garcia. The Prime Minister insisted that the deal safeguards key national security interests, despite criticism that it could leave the region vulnerable to influence from China.
The decision as finalised by Labour follows earlier negotiations initiated by the Conservative government under Liz Truss. Former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, a current Conservative leadership candidate, had opened talks with Mauritius.
The handover of the islands has initiated a political blame game within the Conservative Party. Grant Shapps, a former defence secretary and chair of Cleverly’s leadership campaign claimed that he had blocked the deal during his tenure due to concerns over UK sovereignty.
“As defence secretary, I was so concerned about the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands that I blocked the deal from proceeding,” Shapps said, criticising the current government for abandoning British control of the archipelago, including the militarily essential Diego Garcia.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson commended the decision “crazy” and accused the government of caving to political correctness. “The Diego Garcia base is of huge strategic importance for the US and the West, and it’s a key component of the Anglo-American alliance. It’s a bad idea to give this up,” Johnson remarked.
In response, a spokesperson for Liz Truss shifted the blame back to Johnson, suggesting that he had asked Truss to begin discussions with Mauritius at the Cop26 summit. However, the spokesperson insisted Truss had no intention of giving up sovereignty over the islands.
Jonathan Powell, the prime minister’s special envoy who brokered the deal, dismissed the Tory criticism as “silly,” pointing out that Cleverly had enthusiastically led the talks in the recent past.
When asked if other British Overseas Territories could face a similar fate under Labour, Starmer reassured that the priority was to secure the military base on Diego Garcia, which is now protected under the agreement. “We’ve secured a key asset for both the US and the UK, and that’s why you saw such strong support from the US,” Starmer said.
The agreement includes a 99-year lease on the Diego Garcia base, with an option to renew. Britain will make annual payments to Mauritius as part of the deal, which maintains the joint US-UK military presence on the island.
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