Today in the Chamber Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst MP challenged the Department for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on the decision to cede sovereignty of the entire Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius. The UK will lease back Diego Garcia from Mauritius for an initial period of 99 years. The deal includes provisions for financial support from the UK to Mauritius, at an estimated cost of £90bn to the British taxpayer.
The Government’s decision has been repeatedly criticised by Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst, Member of Parliament for Solihull West & Shirley, for the implications this will have on national security of the United Kingdom and its allies.
In Parliament, Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst, a British Army veteran, has consistently challenged the Government’s ‘Chagos Deal’ since its announcement in October 2024. Neil has previously highlighted that the cost of this decision by the Government comes at £180m a year, the amount it would take to fund an entire army Light Brigade.
On Wednesday 2nd April during an Urgent Question on the negotiations surrounding the future sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory, Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst pressed the Government on its plan to ensure that hostile states such as China are prevented from exerting its influence in the Chagos Islands whilst the United Kingdom pays its costly lease to Mauritius.
While the Foreign Office Minister confirmed robust security provisions have been guaranteed in the following forms: full UK and US control over the Diego Garcia base, and a buffer zone around the islands that prevents any activity that impinges on UK/ US operations and the prohibition of a foreign security presence for the next 99 years; the Minister failed to mention the agreement on the prevention of any soft power influence from hostile states in the area.
Since China and Mauritius signed a Free Trade Agreement in 2021 there is has been an ever-growing Chinese influence in Mauritius’ infrastructure, services, and financial sector. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached $283 billion in 2023 and the People’s Bank of China signed a currency swap agreement with the Bank of Mauritius valued at $281.1 million. These actions bear a striking resemblance to the increased levels of Foreign Direct Investment seen from China into Hong Kong before the 1997 handover.
Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst will continue to challenge the Government for its choice to spend a significant amount of our already stretched defence budget on this fundamentally flawed deal.
