Chagos Islands Transfer Deal Hits US Opposition
The passage of the Chagos Islands bill through the British Houses of Parliament entered stormy waters on January 20, when amendments made to the bill by the House of Lords were considered in the House of Commons. The Chagos Islands legislation needs to be passed if the agreement already signed between Mauritius and the United Kingdom is to be ratified and brought into effect.
The legislation has provoked huge controversy in the United Kingdom. Opponents have argued that the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago were not consulted in the process of transferring the sovereignty of their birthplace to Mauritius, a country to which they say they have no connection. It has been argued that because the Chagossian people are not of European stock, as are the inhabitants of Gibraltar and the Falklands Islands, they are being denied the right of self-determination.
The reliability of Mauritian undertakings made in the treaty, once sovereignty has been surrendered and there is no recourse, has also been questioned, particularly in the light of the close relationship Mauritius enjoys with China – which has welcomed the deal. The cost of the arrangement – a charge on the UK defense budget – has also been questioned.
The Labour government has hitherto rejected these arguments, resting its case primarily on US backing for the deal, which it has said is vital underpinning for the future arrangements to maintain the US Naval Support Facility on Diego Garcia. That argument was apparently blown out of the water on January 20 when President Trump described the sovereignty transfer on his social media account as an act of "GREAT STUPIDITY being made for NO REASON WHATSOEVER."
When changes made to the legislation in the House of Lords were reviewed by the House of Commons yesterday, the government maintained that the deal still had US support, ignoring President Trump’s rejection of the agreement on social media. The amendments were rejected, and the bill was sent back to the House of Lords for them to reconsider.
The House of Lords appears in no mood to compromise, and as the bill was not a manifesto commitment, there is precedent for the Lords to reject it. Opposition to the bill has widened across the political spectrum in recent weeks, causing political defections. Three Labour members of parliament voted against the government in yesterday’s debate in the House of Commons, a most unusual occurrence and a harbinger of more opposition to come. The fate of the bill therefore hangs in the balance, dependent primarily on whether the Trump administration follows through with its new-found opposition to a deal which it had previously supported.
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A primary motivation of Mauritius pressing for the deal has always been money, with Mauritius having demonstrated little interest in a far-distant area which they do not have the opportunity or resources to exploit. Within Mauritius, it has been welcomed as a unique chance to pay down the national debt and cancel income tax. This financial motivation opens up several alternative arrangements which might in future guarantee continued US/UK use of Diego Garcia, alongside the protection of the rights of the Chagossian people.
Meanwhile, on Diego Garcia itself, careful watch is being maintained on the apron of the airfield to see if strike aircraft are arriving from the United States, as they did during the run-up to American attacks on Iran last year. At present there are no additional aircraft to be seen, but there are first indications of air reinforcements being moved to bases in the Middle East. The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and its carrier support group are on track to arrive in the Gulf of Oman on about January 25.