Lammy defends Chagos deal, says it saves UK-US military bases
3 Min Read
The UK foreign secretary says the status quo is not sustainable, as Tory MPs accuse Labour of giving away a key asset.
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Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy waits to greet Secretary of State Antony Blinken for a meeting with at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, on September 10, 2024. (AP)
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy praised the decision to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, viewing it as a way to protect a strategically significant UK-US military base. This comes in response to criticisms from opposition MPs who claimed that a valuable asset was being relinquished.
Last week, the government announced its plan to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, concluding a long-standing dispute over Britain's last African colony. However, the military base on Diego Garcia will continue to be managed by the UK.
In a statement to Parliament, the foreign secretary highlighted the necessity of the agreement, stating that the existing situation was clearly "unsustainable". Citing US support for the deal, Lammy informed MPs, “It is crucial for our national security. Without secure tenure, the base cannot continue to exist. This agreement is beneficial for the UK, the US, and Mauritius.”
He added, “This is a victory for diplomacy. We saved the base, it has been secured for the long term.”
Lammy stated that this deal does not imply that similar arrangements are forthcoming for Gibraltar or the Falklands. “British sovereignty on the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, and the sovereign base areas is not up for negotiation,” he said. “The situations are not comparable. This has been acknowledged across our overseas territories.”
On Monday, Conservative MPs interrupted Lammy regarding the deal, even though the previous government had participated in 11 rounds of negotiations, the last of which occurred just weeks before the general election. Negotiations began in November 2022, with former Foreign Secretaries James Cleverly and David Cameron involved.
The shadow Foreign Secretary, Andrew Mitchell, stated that the government “proposes to give away a key military asset," saying this “gives succour to our enemies in a dangerous world”.
Former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick also criticized the deal, stating, "We’ve just transferred sovereign British territory to a small island nation allied with China, and we’re paying for it—just so the Foreign Secretary can feel good at his next dinner party in north London. Whose interests does he believe he is serving: the global diplomatic elite or the British people and our national interest?"
Lammy stated that in exchange for Mauritius gaining sovereignty over the islands, including Diego Garcia, base operations will remain under UK control into the next century—initially for 99 years, with the UK having the option to extend this period.
Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that "Britain and the United States are guilty of crimes against humanity in the forced displacement of indigenous people from the Chagos Islands."
In a new 106-page report, HRW acknowledged that the UK's "racial persecution, and continued blocking of their return home" with Washington's support, constituted an "ongoing colonial crime."
The report came almost 55 years since the UK and the US forcibly evicted Chagossians from Diego Garcia.
HRW urged the two countries to make full reparations to the Chagossian people, including the right to return to their homeland in the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
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