British plan to cede Chagos Islands sovereignty prompts concerns over China threat

Many of the original inhabitants of the islands who were forcibly expelled to make way for the base on Diego Garcia in the 1960s and 1970s are also critical of the agreement and say their voices have been ignored.

British colony

The Chagos Islands, officially known as the “British Indian Ocean Territory,” are one of the last vestiges of the British Empire. They comprise more than 60 islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the largest of which is Diego Garcia. Britain officially took ownership of the archipelago from France after the defeat of French leader and Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte in 1815.

The islands were administered from Mauritius, which argues it was illegally forced to give up the Chagos Islands in return for its own independence from Britain in 1968.

In an advisory opinion in 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague ruled “... the process of decolonization of Mauritius was not lawfully completed when that country acceded to independence.” The judges added that Britain is under an obligation “to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible.”

Sovereignty negotiations

Negotiations between Britain and Mauritius on ceding sovereignty have been going on for several years. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, has sought to finalize the agreement since winning power in July last year.

Speaking to British lawmakers last month, Starmer said a deal was vital to secure the future of the U.S. military base.

“This is a military base that is vital for our national security. A number of years ago, the legal certainty of that base was thrown into doubt. … Without legal certainty, the base cannot operate in practical terms as it should. That is bad for our national security and it’s a gift to our adversaries,” Starmer said on Feb. 5.

British media report that Britain will cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands and pay Mauritius around $116 million a year for 99 years to lease back Diego Garcia and allow the military base to remain, with an option to extend the lease for another 40 years. However, neither Britain nor Mauritius have confirmed any details, and the agreement is yet to be finalized.

Trump approval

During a visit by Starmer to the White House last month, Trump said that he was “inclined” to approve the deal.

“I have a feeling it's going to work out very well. They're talking about a very long-term, powerful lease, a very strong lease, about 140 years actually. That's a long time, and I think we'll be inclined to go along with your country,” Trump told Starmer during the visit on Feb. 27.

The proposed deal also has the backing of India, which has close political and security ties to Mauritius.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to travel to Mauritius on Tuesday as chief guest on the country’s national day, the anniversary of its independence from Britain. Modi is expected to discuss upgrading India’s defense ties with the island nation.

China concerns

Politicians in Britain and the United States, however, have expressed concerns over potential security implications of handing sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius amid a growing threat from China in the region.

Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary for Britain’s Conservative opposition party, described the proposed plan as “a strategic disaster for Britain” that represented “an appalling betrayal of the British people.”

Members of Britain’s Shadow Cabinet are responsible for scrutinizing the policies and actions of the government but have no executive power.

U.S. Senator James Risch, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in October that the proposed deal “gives in to Chinese lawfare and yields to pressure from unaccountable international institutions like the International Court of Justice at the expense of U.S. and U.K. strategic and military interests.”

“The U.S. and our allies must take a long-term approach when it comes to making decisions that affect our strategic competition with China, or we will all lose,” Risch told Politico.

China’s burgeoning economic relationship with Mauritius makes the African island nation vulnerable to influence from Beijing, noted Evan Fowler of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.

“Given the complexity of the situation there, actually having a deal that secures the base is good. However, having a deal doesn't mean just accepting any deal. China has significant investments. Mauritius owes China quite a lot. China has quite a clear record of using debt … to seek political advantage.

“That area is strategically important to us because it's a way for us to project power,” Fowler told VOA. “And the Chinese understand this, too. The Chinese have already been active militarily around the Chagos Islands.”

Chagossians ‘voiceless’

After their expulsion, many Chagossians settled in Mauritius. Thousands also came to Britain, with many choosing to settle in the town of Crawley, south of London.

Frankie Bontemps and Maxwell Evenor are second-generation Chagossians whose parents were forced out of their homeland in the 1960s. They are part of the group “Chagossian Voices,” which seeks to assert the rights of the exiled population.

“Once again we are ignored,” Bontemps told VOA. “People are discussing the future of our homeland without us. We feel like history is repeating itself. We feel voiceless, powerless, because we are being abused again — I would say by Mauritius, by the U.K., along with the U.S.”

Many Chagossians argue Mauritius has never had a rightful claim to their homeland — and object to Britain’s proposed deal to cede sovereignty.

“We now find ourselves — our very own identity, our very own self — being given to someone else by a made-up policy without asking us,” Evenor told VOA, adding that there could be no historical link between the Chagos Islands and Mauritius “because it's 2,000 kilometers away.”

“We are still colonized. We are the last colony of Africa,” Evenor said.

Diego Garcia

The exiled Chagossians have been told that under the terms of the deal with Mauritius, they would be able to return to outer islands in the Chagos archipelago — but not to Diego Garcia, which would remain off-limits.

However, infrastructure on the outer islands is almost non-existent, according to Bontemps, who said that most Chagossians would accept living next to the military base on Diego Garcia.

“I think most of us, we don't have anything against that base. We know the geopolitical importance. We know about the China threat, or whoever,” Bontemps told VOA. “We want to live on our ancestors’ land. As well, the base will be a source of work for us.”