PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer announced on Thursday that an agreement had been signed to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while allowing continued UK-US military use of Diego Garcia. The deal was signed after a high court judge cleared it to proceed following a legal challenge.
"A few moments ago, I signed a deal to secure the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia," Starmer said.
The agreement, backed by the US, was described by Starmer as "the only way" to maintain control of the military base on the archipelago's largest island. Britain will pay Mauritius £101 million annually for 99 years to lease the facility, he said.
"There's no alternative but to act in Britain's national interest by agreeing to this deal," he added. Including inflation, the total cost of the lease is expected to be about £3.4 billion.
Starmer said the UK's key allies supported the move. US secretary of state Marco Rubio said in a statement that Washington "welcomes the historic agreement".
Mauritian prime minister Navin Ramgoolam called the deal a "great victory" and said it completed "the process of decolonisation of Mauritius, which began in 1968".
However, the UK’s opposition Conservative party criticised the move, accusing Starmer of having "given away" British territory.
The deal had been delayed earlier in the day after two Chagossian women, Bertrice Pompe and Bernadette Dugasse, secured a temporary injunction in a pre-dawn court hearing. The signing was initially scheduled for 9:00 am (0800 GMT) but was paused.
The government challenged the injunction, stating the deal would need to be signed by 1:00 pm with court approval. Judge Martin Chamberlain lifted the ban shortly after 12:30 pm, saying there was a "very strong case" that delaying the deal would harm the UK’s national and public interest.
Starmer said Britain had no guarantee of maintaining the base without an agreement, as legal rulings had cast doubt on UK sovereignty over the islands. He said the deal would prevent other nations, including China, from establishing bases or conducting joint exercises near Diego Garcia.
Outside the court, Pompe said it was a "very, very sad day". "We don't want to hand our rights over to Mauritius. We are not Mauritians," she said.
The Chagos Islands remained under British control after Mauritius gained independence in the 1960s. Thousands of islanders were removed, with many seeking compensation through UK courts.
Pompe, a British national born on the Chagos Islands, said she had been "forcibly removed from the Chagos Islands by the British authorities between 1967 and 1973". She said many others were left in poverty in Mauritius and faced long-term discrimination.
She added that the new agreement could "jeopardise" her current limited rights to visit the islands, including visits to family graves.
The Diego Garcia base, leased to the US, is a key military asset in the Asia-Pacific and has supported operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Ministry of Defence said a 24-nautical mile buffer zone will be enforced, where no construction or placement of material can happen without UK consent.
Defence secretary John Healey told parliament that MPs would be allowed to scrutinise the deal before its ratification.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice advised that the UK should hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius, following decades of legal disputes.
India welcomes UK's decision
India on Thursday welcomed the UK's decision to hand over the sovereignty of Chagos Islands including tropical atoll of Diego Garcia to Mauritius.
In its reaction, India said it has consistently supported Mauritius's "legitimate claim" over the Chagos Archipelago in keeping with its principled position on "decolonisation, respect for sovereignty, and the territorial integrity of nations".
We welcome the signing of the treaty between the UK and Mauritius on the return of Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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