The Prime Minister of Mauritius is examining the duration of the contract for the lease of the Chagos military base, Reuters writes
Author: Villen Anganan
PORT LOUIS (Reuters) – Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam has questioned the length of the lease for a US-British military base, he told local newspapers, a contentious element of negotiations in which Britain plans to cede control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Britain agreed in October to hand over the Chagos Islands while retaining control of the base on Diego Garcia, the archipelago’s largest island in the Indian Ocean, under a 99-year lease. The agreement has not yet been ratified.
After ousting the former government in November’s election, Ramgoolam criticized the deal, without going into detail on individual points of contention.
Describing Britain’s deal with the former government as a “sell-out”, Ramgoolam told local newspaper L’Express that the rent should also be indexed to inflation and take exchange rates into account.
It should fully recognize Mauritius’ ownership of the islands, he added, which could affect the UK’s unilateral right to renew the lease.
“It’s not just about money, it’s about our sovereignty,” he said, adding that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was ready to seal the deal before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
Marco Rubio, Trump’s choice for secretary of state, said the deal threatened US security by ceding the archipelago – home to a base used by US long-range bombers and warships – to what it claims is an ally of China.
“We’re in no rush,” Ramgoolam said. “We remain constant in our claims and we will make sure that the medium and long-term interests of the country are looked at, not just the short-term.”
Some Chagossians also criticized the negotiations, saying they could not support an agreement they were not involved in and said they would protest against it.
