The Prime Minister of Mauritius says he issued 'counterproposals' to the UK about the Chagos Islands agreement.
A historic deal for the United Kingdom to hand control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has been called into question after the African island nation's new prime minister issued “routine recommendations”.
The British government still plans to cede control of the chain of 60 islands to Mauritius on the condition that the UK-US strategic military base on the largest island, Diego Garcia, remains under British control for -at least 99. years.
Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, who took office last month, said on Tuesday he was reopening talks because the current contract “that this would not bring the benefits that the country could expect from such an agreement”.
Ramgoolam told lawmakers in the Mauritius parliament that his government is “still willing to conclude an agreement with the United Kingdom” and had submitted counter-proposals.
Britain's minister for overseas territories, Stephen Doughty, said on Wednesday that he was confident that the deal would be finalized and that it was “completely understandable” for the new Mauritian government to seek time to review details.
“I am confident that we have agreed a good and fair deal that is in the interests of both sides,” he told lawmakers in the House of Commons. “It protects the base at an appropriate cost. It has supported from the national security architecture of the United States and India.”
The UK's opposition Tories have accused the government of surrendering sovereignty over British soil.
US President Joe Biden praised the agreement as “historic”, emphasizing its importance for the future of the US Navy base on Diego Garcia. However, supporters of US President Donald Trump have criticized the deal.
The base, which is home to around 2,500 American troops, has been described as an “absolutely essential platform” for security operations in the Middle East, South Asia and East Africa.
The Chagos Islands have been under British control since 1814. In the 1960s and 1970s, Britain expelled nearly 2,000 local people to make way for a US military base, which played an important role in US military operations in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2008, the US also admitted that the base was used for clandestine flights of “terrorist” suspects.
The displaced Chagossians have been fighting for years in British courts for the right to return to their homeland. Under the terms of the new agreement, they and their descendants would be allowed to return to the islands, although they would be excluded from Diego Garcia.
Mauritius, an African country located about 2,100 kilometers (1,300 miles) southwest of the Chagos Islands, lies off the east coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.
