The Chagos Islands deal has been hailed as necessary to avoid a significant conflict with one of Britain’s adversaries.
Stephen Doughty, minister for the British overseas territories, said Russia or China could build a spy base on the largest island of Deigo Garcia, near the existing US military base, if the archipelago isn’t given to Mauritius.
He wrote in The Times: “If you value UK national security, and that of our allies, you should support this deal.”
The MP for Cardiff South and Penarth compared a possible “serious confrontation” to that of the Cuban Missile Crisis involving the US and Soviet Union.
He warned that China or Russia could exploit an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which decreed that Britain had no sovereignty over the islands.
The current deal involves Britain paying Mauritius £90 million a year for 99 years to maintain control of the Diego Garcia military base. It also prevents Mauritius from “renting” the nearby islands of Peros Banhos, Danger Island and the Egmont Islands.
Mr Doughty warned that if the deal does not go through, the country’s adversaries will “establish outposts” on these outer islands, as Britain would have no legal standing to “remove them.”
He wrote: “If we don’t pay, someone else will. Our adversaries would jump at the chance to establish outposts on the outer islands.
“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.”
Mr Doughty also argued that the Chagos deal would “solidify” the special relationship between the UK and the US and ensure peace in the Indo-Pacific region.
He 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 the UK and US presence in the Indo-Pacific for generations to come.”
He also warned of further repercussions of not passing the deal, as Mauritius could seek to implement legally binding legislation stopping Britain from patrolling the waters around the islands.
He concluded: “Without a deal, we would face serious real-world operational impacts on the base.
“It would erode our ability to operate key frequencies – vital for our own communication and to counter hostile states – and affect everything from overflight clearances to securing contractors with consequential rocketing costs, declining investment and a degraded facility.”
