British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly vows to protect ‘untethered’ US operations at Diego Garcia military base during talks to hand over islands to Mauritius as Republicans warn of growing Chinese influence
- The UK says the US base in Diego Garcia will be protected in any island transfer
- London negotiates the transfer of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius
- But Republicans want guarantees to protect the base from Chinese encroachment
Britain’s foreign secretary said on Wednesday he had assured his US counterpart that any deal to hand over an island group in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius would allow US military operations at the base on Diego Garcia to continue in an “unfettered” manner.
London is negotiating the handover of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, allowing islanders removed decades ago to return as part of a deal to set up the military base.
While the facility would remain under any deal, Republicans have warned that nothing is stopping China from mounting surveillance operations on a neighboring island.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told DailyMail.com that he had promised Secretary of State Antony Blinken that he recognized the importance of the base.
“They know that I absolutely understand how important the operations on Diego Garcia are, and they know that we will absolutely protect them,” he said just before flying back to London from the US.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said he assured Antony Blinken, his American counterpart, that he understood the importance of the Diego Garcia base
Diego Garcia is the largest island in the Chagos Archipelago. Its location in the center of the Indian Ocean gives it a critical strategic location and is the site of a US naval support facility, hosting nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, and hosting special operations forces.
However, he declined to explain how encroaching Chinese influence would be kept at bay, citing the importance of keeping negotiations private.
The islands are at the center of a long-running dispute, and each deal aims to undo a historic mistake.
The UK claimed the islands from France in the nineteenth century. But in the 1960s and 1970s, it removed locals to make way for a base on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain.
Former residents have since campaigned for the right of return.
Four years ago, the International Court of Justice, the highest court of the United Nations, ruled that British control of the islands was illegal and that the archipelago was part of Mauritius.
Last year, Cleverly announced that talks had begun about the future of the islands.
The base, which is leased to the US, is a critical staging post for missions in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. And it has played a role in conflicts and emergencies from the Iranian Revolution to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
Concerns for the future, voiced by Representative Mike Waltz, a former Green Beret who chairs the preparedness subcommittee of the House Armed Service Committee, center on China’s growing economic ties with Mauritius as it seeks to expand its reach in the Indian Ocean.
Its location makes it ideally suited for operations in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia
Displaced islanders of Chagos have fought for years to return home. Most now live in Mauritius or the UK, but won a victory in 2019 when the United Nations Supreme Court ruled that the British occupation of the islands was illegal
US Strategic Command took the unusual step in November to reveal that the ballistic missile submarine USS West Virginia had stopped in October as it made a nuclear ‘deterrent’ patrol in the Indian Ocean
He’s not alone.
“The Department of Defense shares your concerns about the People’s Republic of China’s interest in deepening ties with Mauritius and the East African coastal countries that form the westernmost border of the Indian Ocean,” Colin Kahl, Deputy Defense Secretary, wrote in a letter shared to DailyMail.com earlier this year.
Slim said the future of the Diego Garcia base was an essential part of the negotiations.
“I will not enter into ongoing negotiations with Mauritius. but I have always believed that negotiations are best conducted discreetly, privately and professionally,” he said.
“That’s a principle I’ve always worked on and it’s worked for me, so I’m sticking to that.
“But the point I’ve made — I’ve made this point directly to the United States — is that we absolutely take the ability to operate from Diego Garcia as an absolute key element in this and will absolutely make sure that we can continue to do that in an unfettered manner.”