Britain and Mauritius eye swift Chagos treaty amid uncertainty

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LONDON (Reuters) – Britain and Mauritius both want to finalise a treaty over the future of a U.S.-British military base in the Chagos Islands as quickly as possible, they said on Friday, after Mauritius’ new government cast doubt on the deal.

Britain agreed in October to cede sovereignty of the islands in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius, saying it would secure the future of the strategically important Diego Garcia military base, but a formal treaty is yet to be finalised.

Earlier this week, Mauritius’ new prime minister said his government wished to renegotiate the deal, but Britain has maintained that the deal works for all sides, as it faces the possibility that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could unpick the agreement when he takes office in January.

On Friday Britain’s foreign ministry published a brief joint statement with Mauritius, setting out the status of the negotiations.

“Mauritius and the UK have held a series of productive, ongoing conversations and exchanges on finalising a historic Treaty on the exercise of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago,” the statement said.

“Both countries reiterated their commitment to finalising a treaty as quickly as possible, whose terms will agree to ensure the long-term, secure and effective operation of the existing base on Diego Garcia and that Mauritius is sovereign over the Archipelago.”

The deal has the blessing of U.S. President Joe Biden, but Trump’s pick for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has said the British handover of the islands to Mauritius poses a threat to U.S. security given China’s influence in the region.

When Mauritius became independent in the 1960s, London retained control of the Chagos Islands and forcibly displaced up to 2,000 people to make way for the Diego Garcia base. Some displaced Chagossians have expressed dismay that they weren’t consulted on the deal agreed in October.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar)