The U.K. and Mauritius have announced significant progress in negotiations over Chagos Islands sovereignty, including a U.S.-British military base.
Efforts To Finalize The Deal Before January 20
Britain is aiming to finalize the deal before Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration.
“Good progress has been made and discussions are ongoing to reach an agreement that is in both sides’ interests,” according to a U.K.-Mauritius joint statement provided by the British government on Monday.
The U.K. struck a deal in October to hand over control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while retaining control of the military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, under a 99-year lease – an agreement that needs to be ratified.
Since then, an ally of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and new Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam have publicly criticised the deal.
Last month, Ramgoolam said that his government wanted to renegotiate the deal.
Britain has said the deal works for all sides.
British media have reported that London has offered to front load a tranche of payments to Mauritius for the lease of the strategically important military base.
U.K.-Mauritius Joint Statement
The U.K.-Mauritius joint statement also reiterated London’s position that good progress had been made and discussions were ongoing to reach an agreement that was in both sides’ interests.
It offered no new details.
“Both countries reiterated their commitment to concluding a treaty providing that Mauritius is sovereign over the Chagos Archipelago; and that would ensure the long-term, secure and effective operation of the base on Diego Garcia,” it said.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.
Marco Rubio, his pick as Secretary of State, has said the deal poses a threat to U.S. security by ceding the archipelago – with its base used by U.S. long-range bombers and warships – to a country allied with China.
(With inputs from Reuters)
