Mauritius could rent out islands near the crucial Diego Garcia military base to China or Russia unless the UK hands over Chagos sovereignty, a minister claimed today.
Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said doubts about the legal status of the British overseas territory would mean there would be ‘no basis to remove’ a hostile power.
Writing in the Times, he suggested that could trigger a confrontation similar to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The extraordinary warning came as the government scrambles to justify the proposed ceding of the territory to Mauritius. Under a mooted deal the UK would rent back the UK-US base on Diego Garcia for the next century for £90million a year – plus inflation.
However, critics have condemned ministers for caving in, dismissing an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice that Britain does not own the islands.
Allies of Donald Trump have questioned the agreement, with the president said to be reviewing the terms – which were approved by the Biden administration.
Keir Starmer has also argued that control of satellite communications could be put at risk if a deal is not done.
Mr Doughty insisted a deal would ‘strengthen our position in the region’, adding: ‘If you value UK national security, and that of our allies, you should support this deal’.
Mr Doughty raised the prospect of Mauritius leasing one of the other islands – such as Peros Banhos, Danger Island and the Egmont Islands – to a foreign power.
The proposed deal is thought to block that from happening.
‘Our adversaries would jump at the chance to establish outposts on the outer islands,’ he said.
‘With a guise of legality on their side, we would have no basis to remove them and efforts to do so could spark a serious confrontation.’
‘If we don’t pay, someone else will.’
The minister added: ‘The British Indian Ocean Territory deal is rooted in a rational and hard-headed determination to protect UK national security.
‘This deal will protect the base on Diego Garcia and cement UK and US presence in the Indo-Pacific for generations to come.’
Lord Dannatt, former head of the army, said it was ‘hard’ to find reasons to support the Chagos deal.
‘Frankly, £18billion is a lot of money. And if we think we can find 18 billion pounds to buy off Mauritius, frankly, there are much better uses for that £18billion, not the least of which is on the army and on UK defence to spend on things that really matter to us.
‘So whichever way you look at it, it’s very hard to find good news in this deal. And no wonder President Trump is concerned, indeed, to the point of being angry with Britain.
‘And I just can’t see why Keir Starmer’s government really continues going down this track. It’s not frankly, in our interest, it’s not in Americans’ interest, it’s not in the wider security interests of the West.’