Chagos Islands: UK-US Defence Relationship

Commons Urgent Question

The following Answer to an Urgent Question was given in the House of Commons on Monday 2 December.

“I congratulate the honourable gentleman on securing this Urgent Question. The Secretary of State has asked me to respond on behalf of the department.

On 3 October, the UK and Mauritius reached an historic agreement to secure the important UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, which plays a crucial role in regional and international security. The agreement secures the effective operation of the joint facility on Diego Garcia well into the next century. The agreement is strongly supported by our closest friends and allies, including the United States. It has been supported by all relevant US departments and agencies, following a rigorous scrutiny process.

This base is a key part of UK-US defence relationships, as it enables the United Kingdom and the United States to support operations that demonstrate our shared commitments to regional stability, provide a rapid response to crises and counter some of the most challenging security threats we face. The President of the United States applauded the agreement. To quote him directly:

‘It is a clear demonstration that through diplomacy and partnership, countries can overcome long-standing historical challenges to reach peaceful and mutually beneficial outcomes’.

Several other countries and organisations, including India, the African Union, the UN Secretary-General and others, have welcomed and applauded this historic political agreement.

Our primary goal throughout these negotiations, which started over two years ago under the previous Government, was to protect the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia. There will be clear commitments in the treaty to robust security arrangements, including arrangements preventing the presence of foreign security forces on the outer islands, so that the base can continue to operate securely and effectively. The operation of the base will continue unchanged, with strong protections from malign influence.

For the first time in 50 years, the base will be undisputed and legally secure. Continued uncertainty would be a gift to our adversaries. That is why the agreement has been welcomed by all parts of the US system, and other critical regional security partners. Agreeing the deal now, on our terms, meant that we were able to secure strong protections that will allow the base to operate as it has done. We look forward to engaging with the upcoming US Administration on this and many other aspects of the UK-US special relationship.

Finally, honourable Members can be reassured that the long-term protection of the base on Diego Garcia has been the shared UK and US priority throughout, and this agreement secures its future. We would not have signed off on an agreement that compromised any of our security interests, or those of the US and our allies and partners”.

11:51:00

My Lords, there is a world of difference between exploratory discussions, which have always been caveated by UK security interests, and signing on the dotted line, when there has been a material change in circumstances since the inception of the original discussions. I have two questions. First, on our most important ally, the United States, why are the Government charging ahead with this matter with the agreement of an exiting President of the US with diminished authority rather than awaiting the decision of the President-elect with a new and commanding electoral authority? Secondly, given the increased and deeply troubling levels of global risk, which were alluded to by senior military personnel just last night and which have emerged since this project was first broached, why are the Government contemplating signing anything that removes our security in the region from our control and, critically, leaves us unable to deal with any potentially malign activity in the surrounding environment?

Our view is that this makes us more secure. The UK-US base has been subject to challenge for the last 50 years, and this agreement would be the first time that the presence of our joint base with the US on Diego Garcia would be legally secure. We think that that is a prize worth having. On the question of why we are rushing, I do not think that anybody could characterise this as being a rush. There have been 12 or 13 rounds of negotiations, most of them conducted under the previous Government, and we think that this is a good deal for the UK. We have prioritised our security at the front of our minds when undertaking this task, and we have been challenged on that, because there are other things that other people would have liked us to have prioritised, such as the legitimate grievance of the Chagossian community. We have prioritised security and making the base on Diego Garcia legally secure, which is the right position for this Government.

My Lords, notwithstanding the 11 rounds of exploratory discussions under the previous Government—and I suspect that, in the next Urgent Question on Ukraine, we will be asked not to follow the incoming Trump Administration when setting British foreign policy—does the Minister agree with me that it is perfectly right for the new Mauritian Government to review their own policies? I welcome the fact that the UK Prime Minister’s national security adviser met the new Mauritian Prime Minister in early court. Does the Minister agree with me that the principle of the Chagossians being involved in the process now under way—especially given the deficiencies in parliamentary scrutiny under the treaty-making powers—means that they need to be involved in proper parliamentary scrutiny, to avoid this becoming political football yet again in which they will lose out? That will provide an ability in Parliament to approve any treaty proposals through debates in both Houses.

I agree with the point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, that we need to allow the new incoming Mauritian Government the time and space to do what they need to do. As a newly elected Government, it is absolutely right that they take the time they need to consider the agreement fully. We will be working with them. As the noble Lord said, Jonathan Powell has been there, and we are answering any questions that we would expect them to have. On the engagement of the Chagossian community in the parliamentary process, I completely understand why the noble Lord wants this to happen. I am not against that happening. My concern is that we do not raise expectations or lead the Chagossian community on. We are very straightforward and clear that this is an agreement between the UK Government and the Mauritian Government. We do not want to compound the cruelty and disrespect with which they have been treated over decades by not being completely straightforward with them at this stage—I am concerned about that. He knows the deficiencies of the CRaG process as well as I do, but it still remains the process.

My Lords, recent elections in Mauritius and the United States have thrown new uncertainties into the equation. Do we know when the review of the new Prime Minister, Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam, will be concluded? That could add some several weeks or months to the considerations. What message did Mr Jonathan Powell bring back from Washington when he saw the potential new Administration?

We are not putting a timetable on this for the Mauritian Government. It is not really on us to chivvy them along; they need as long as they need to consider the agreement in the fullest way, and we respect their right to do that. Jonathan Powell has been in the United States, but we need to remember that the US has very clear rules on its engagement with other Governments in the period between the election and the inauguration in January, and we need to respect its rules on that.

My Lords, I was the last Minister to visit Diego Garcia. It is depressing to learn, in Answers to Parliamentary Questions, that no Minister intends to visit in future—that is really not a good sign. In the sovereign base areas in Cyprus, we have a working example of ceding sovereign territory while maintaining a strategic sovereign base. Why are the Government refusing to follow that example and that model?

I would very much like to visit the Chagos Islands some weeks.

She should do so.

I would be very happy to. I point out that Minister West visited Diego Garcia recently. It was before she was appointed as a Minister, but she is now the Minister for Asia and the Pacific, and she has visited the Chagos Island. On the noble Lord’s second point, as he knows, every case is different. This is a unique situation, and our presence in the Chagos Island has been contested for many decades. This is a very different situation to what we have in the sovereign base areas, the uniqueness of which has led to a unique way of resolving the situation.

My Lords, I fully understand why my noble friend is cautious and delicate in her language when she talks about participants in whatever agreement is reached, particularly when she is talking about the Chagossians themselves. Of course, we want to make sure that they are fully informed and understand in a transparent way what is being agreed, but can she be a little bit firmer in recognising that in every other aspect of British decolonisation that I can think of, and which I guess most people can think of, self-determination is a crucial principle? This is not easily applied in this respect, but I would like the reassurance that the Chagossians figure very highly in the dialogue that the Government are having.

That is right. Self-determination is fundamental when it comes to other overseas territories, most notably the Falkland Islands. We have made that very clear. The issue here is different. These issues date back to decolonisation, as my noble friend says, and the legal status. Those were very different times, and there was a move then to separate the colony, which is not allowable under international law. That is why we have ended up where we have. It is right that we engage with the Chagossians and that we listen and understand. They will now have the right to return to the Chagos Islands but not to Diego Garcia. That is a much better position than they have been in over recent decades. What I do not want to see is the Chagossian community used and abused as a political football because some parties have decided that this is a good way to make political capital at their expense.

My Lords, the noble Baroness makes a great deal of sense. However, in informal contacts that I have had with Chinese officials and diplomats, they have shown enormous interest in this whole issue, particularly regarding the position of Mauritius, to the point of writing down every word of what they think that they have heard. The report seemed to be that Mauritius remains quite friendly with China. Can the Minister reassure us that, in this rather new situation in the world which the noble Lord, Lord Anderson, referred to, this dimension is being studied very carefully? This is part of a long-term Chinese strategy, which we can see, of hoovering up Commonwealth countries.

We are very well aware of the activities in the Indian Ocean. I remind noble Lords that Mauritius is one of the few African states not to be taking part in belt and road. It is a close ally with India but, of course, we are concerned deeply about any actions of any state that may jeopardise security in Diego Garcia. We have put that front and centre of our negotiations, and we feel that this secures the base on Diego Garcia in a much better way than it has been handled over recent decades.