UK-Mauritius Agreement on the Chagos Archipelago Debate
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(3 days, 4 hours ago)
Lords ChamberThat this House resolves, in accordance with section 20 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 and in the light of concerns about the cost of the agreement, the absence of any legal requirement to conclude such an agreement, its impact on international security, and the lack of meaningful consultation of the Chagossian people, and recognising the right of Chagossians to be registered as British Overseas Territory citizens under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, that His Majesty’s Government should not ratify the Agreement between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Mauritius concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia, laid before the House on 22 May.
Relevant document: 9th Report from the International Agreements Committee (special attention drawn to the instrument)
My Lords, let me start by saying how much I am looking forward to hearing the maiden speech of my noble and learned friend Lady Prentis of Banbury and, more with sadness, the valedictory speech of my noble friend Lord Boswell of Aynho.
Before I speak to the Motion, it is worth reflecting for a moment on the fairly remarkable fact that this debate is the only opportunity that Parliament will have to express its view on this treaty, under the procedure established by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act—or CRaG. While that Act placed Parliament’s role in treaty ratification on the statute book, by convention Parliament has had a role in the ratification of treaties for over century. Under the Ponsonby rule, the House of Commons should be given the opportunity to debate a substantive Motion on a treaty when it is laid before Parliament where there is a formal request in the usual channels. This precedent was confirmed by the right honourable Chris Bryant MP, who was the Minister taking what is now the CRaG Act through the House of Commons in 2010. During Committee, on 19 January, he confirmed that:
“The Government would always make sure that where a debate and vote were requested, they would be made available within the allotted time—or if they were not, we would extend the time in order to allow that provision”.—[Official Report, Commons, 19/1/10; col. 218.]
Like so many of our conventions, this is yet another that has been chucked in the dustbin by this Government, who have in fact refused to allow time for a substantive Motion in the other place on this very important treaty. If it is such a good deal, one wonders why the Government are so reluctant to allow MPs to even discuss it? It is therefore only this House which will be able to send a message to the Government on this treaty. I know that noble Lords rightly think long and hard before disagreeing with the other place, but it looks as though we do not need to concern ourselves with such precedents on this occasion.
What we are discussing today is, frankly, an astonishing act of national self-harm. Let us be under no illusion: the deal that the Government have agreed to is a strategic capitulation. We are preparing to hand over sovereign British territory which has been under continuous British control for over two centuries and—as if that were not embarrassing enough—the British taxpayer is being asked to pay £30 billion for the privilege.
The British Indian Ocean Territory, and in particular Diego Garcia, is of immense geopolitical importance. It is key to our defence and intelligence interests in a region increasingly contested by authoritarian powers. Astonishingly, the Government are now preparing to cede sovereignty to Mauritius. The island of Mauritius is 2,000 kilometres away from the Chagos Islands and it has never exercised any jurisdiction over the territory. It now stands to gain significant influence in our vital defence and foreign security policies. This is not pragmatic foreign policy; it is a surrender, orchestrated by international lawyers and signed off by a Prime Minister who seems to be incapable of acting in the true interests of Britain abroad.
The Government’s approach to the Chagos Archipelago is not rooted in strategic calculation, nor in genuine concern for the long-term stability of the region. It seems to be driven by a relentless desire to virtue signal on the world stage at the behest of activist lawyers who have no intention of putting Britain’s interests first. The Government’s motivations are ideologically driven, and the Prime Minister, in my view, has been strategically reckless.
Ministers have tried to make a case that this agreement is somehow legally necessary, but it now becomes increasingly clear, not least through some of the evidence given to your Lordships’ International Agreements Committee, that there are in fact a range of views from senior lawyers on this matter. I know that my noble friend Lord Wolfson of Tredegar will address more of the legal aspects in his speech later. For now, I will merely say that this Government seem to almost constantly hide behind legal advice, but at some point Ministers must take responsibility for the political choices that they have made. We should stand firm, and we should defend our territory, our interests and, ultimately, our credibility on the international stage.
In trying to justify this treaty, Labour Ministers have consistently tried to claim that they were merely completing a process begun by the last Government. This is simply not the case. After initial discussions between officials, in December 2023, when my noble friend Lord Cameron was Foreign Secretary, talks on this matter were put on hold after it was concluded that this would not be a deal in which British national interests would be served. Indeed, my noble friend Lord Cameron told the Foreign Affairs Select Committee at the time:
“We face a very insecure and dangerous world and there is a need to maintain our security and strengthen our alliances to protect ourselves, and we should think of Diego Garcia in that context”.
That was our approach: pragmatism, realism and responsibility, not the current Government’s programme of virtue signalling and posturing. I know that my noble friend Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon was very close to this issue as a Minister in the FCDO and I am pleased that he will be contributing to our debate later today.
One of the most astonishing things about this deal is the fact that British taxpayers are paying for it—paying to surrender sovereignty and to embarrass ourselves on the international stage. Given the state of the public finances, I should have thought that this alone would be a red line for this Government, particularly given their recent difficulties convincing their Back-Benchers to cut any sort of spending at all. The Chancellor keeps insisting that we do not have enough money to pay for disability benefits and, until their latest U-turn, not enough money for winter fuel payments to pensioners, but the Government have somehow found the means to shell out £30 billion for the pleasure of giving away British territory. In currency that noble Lords opposite will recognise, this is the equivalent of one and a half black holes and could finance 5,500 more nurses a year, every year.
The Mauritian Finance Minister has helpfully told us what Mauritius is going to do with its fortunate windfall. Mauritius is apparently going to cut taxes and pay off the national debt—and good luck to it. We know that some of the cash is being taken from Ministry of Defence funds, but some of it is coming from the already severely reduced ODA budget—although, so far, the Government have refused to tell us exactly how much. Last week, during Oral Questions, Members from all parts of the House expressed their concerns about the effect of reductions in ODA on things such as infant vaccinations. This indeed is another one of the “tough choices” that the Government keep telling us they are having to make. The Exchequer is making cuts in the UK to fund tax reductions in Mauritius. The long-suffering taxpayer should not suffer the consequences of Labour’s dramatically bad negotiating skills. The fact that this territory is being ceded is, frankly, obscene; the fact that we are paying for it makes it a farce.
I am sure that the Minister will say in his concluding remarks that we are being the Opposition for the sake of being the Opposition. Before he finishes scribbling down his response, I remind him that this agreement is just as unpopular on his own Benches. The greatly respected noble Lord, Lord West of Spithead, who is sadly not in his place, has rightly and powerfully criticised the Government for their decision to cede our territory in this way. He said:
“For reasons that are difficult to fathom, the Government risks jeopardising both of these assets as it apparently remains determined to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands—the home of our vital Diego Garcia military base—to Mauritius … surrendering sovereignty over the Chagos Islands would be an irresponsible act, which would put our strategic interests—and the interests of our closest allies—in danger”.
I could not have put it better myself. I am surprised that the Minister, the Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary have not paid greater heed to the words of the former First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, not least because he is a member of their own party. Indeed, this underscores that this is not simply a party-political matter but a national one, and many people agree that it is a national disgrace.
We cannot overlook the fact that, in a deal so roundly criticised, some of the very few words of welcome have come from China. In contrast to what the PM told the House of Commons, this is hardly a surprise. One of the so-called judges who produced the original ICJ advisory opinion is a Chinese communist supporter of the Russian invasion of Ukraine—such is his love of international law. Huang Shifang, China’s ambassador to Mauritius, told guests at the Chinese embassy at the end of May that her Government offered “massive congratulations” on the deal and that China “fully supports” Mauritius’s attempts to “safeguard national sovereignty”. She also confirmed that Mauritius would soon join Beijing’s belt and road initiative—of course it will.
We are bending over backwards to appease a Chinese communist ICJ judge when we know that China itself pays no heed whatever to any judgments on its policy in the South China Sea or over Hong Kong. When China starts welcoming British defence and foreign policy, does this not suggest that, somehow, something in that policy is perhaps not quite in our national interest? We cannot ignore the growing threat the Chinese Communist Party poses to our national security, to global stability and, in many cases, to its own people.
From industrial-scale cyber espionage and economic coercion abroad, to the systematic repression of Uyghurs and the dismantling of freedoms in Hong Kong and at home, China’s actions increasingly defy the norms of a rules-based international order. Its deepening partnerships with autocratic regimes and its hostility to democratic values only compound these risks. It is this regime that has been one of the few to support the British Government’s decision on this matter. In this context, is it not just ill-advised but actively against our national interest to cede control, even indirectly, of sovereign British territory to any arrangement that could open the door to increased Chinese influence? We should not be blind to the geopolitical consequences of our decisions in this matter.
One of the many concerning aspects of this treaty is the second part of Annexe 1, which requires the UK
“to expeditiously inform Mauritius of any armed attack on a third State directly emanating from the Base on Diego Garcia”.
Lawyers are already debating whether this means that we must inform Mauritius in advance of any attack. I wonder how this would have worked last week, if the US had wished to use Diego Garcia for its actions in Iran—perhaps that is why the question was not asked. How would any notification be kept confidential if the Mauritian Government disagreed? At the very least, I suspect that this interpretation of that part of the annexe will provide plenty more lucrative work for their international lawyer cheerleaders.
Under another part of the annexe, we also have to provide notification to Mauritius of any
“access, basing and overflight for non-United Kingdom and non-United States of America aircraft and vessels”.
That provision states that we can give permission only “upon notification to Mauritius”. Again, that can be interpreted as needing to get permission in advance. Have the Government given any thought whatever as to how these provisions will work in a potentially fast-moving international crisis? I suspect that they have not.
There is another group I have not spoken about so far, but their views are one of the most important factors that the Government should take into account: the Chagossian people, who have been treated disgracefully in this long-going saga. I am pleased that a number of them are in our Public Gallery today to view the debate, and they are very welcome in our House.
Although the Government may have closed their ears to the Chagossian people, your Lordships’ House has the opportunity to say today that we, at least, are listening to them. When the Minister responds to our debate, I hope he will be able to tell us what consultation the Government have actually had with them. I understand that the Foreign Secretary had never met any of them until after the treaty was concluded; therefore, will the Government consider holding a referendum of the Chagossian people before ratifying the treaty?
Finally, among many other concerning aspects of the treaty there is the issue of the current marine protected area. This currently includes no catch for fish and is one of the largest and most important in the world, at over 640,000 square kilometres. It a blue jewel in our crown, as it were. We have no idea what will happen to that in the future. We do, however, have the words of the Mauritian Fisheries Minister, who said earlier this year:
“What stops me tomorrow to say that I am going to give fishing licences for any fishing trawler company or any fishing vessel to go to any part of Chagos; to fish and to bring the catch to be landed at our port? We have the authority, the moral authority, legal authority, legitimate authority to fish in our exclusive economic zone”.
There will be a tremendous economic incentive for a relatively poor country such as Mauritius to exploit the fishing opportunities in those areas.
What is before us today is not a strategic rebalancing nor a moral reckoning; it is a self-inflicted blow to Britain’s global standing. This agreement amounts to a retreat: a surrender of sovereign territory that serves as a linchpin of our defence architecture at a time when authoritarian threats are rising and alliances matter more than ever. Handing control to a Government who align themselves ever more closely with Beijing—a regime that actively undermines international norms and our national interests—is not only unwise; it is positively dangerous. To compound the error, the British taxpayer is being made to foot the Bill.
This whole affair has been a gross folly. There is no strategic gain here, no credible guarantee for the future of Diego Garcia and no reassurance for our allies. Instead, we send a message to adversaries and allies alike that British sovereignty is indeed negotiable. It is capitulation and we must reject it.
My Lords, I thank the Minister very much. The House will be pleased to know that I will not try its patience by going through the many points that have been made. There was much that I could disagree with—many points of error that I could pick up on and some factual statements that I think were wrong. However, if the Minister will permit, I would like clarification on one point that he made earlier. At the start of his remarks, he said that the Government would bring forward legislation before the treaty is ratified. To be absolutely precise, does he mean they would bring forward that legislation and that that legislation would be passed?
Well, the noble Lord could have interrupted me when I was giving my contribution. It is absolutely clear that we need primary legislation, which we will bring forward before ratification.
That legislation would have to be passed by Parliament before ratification.
I do not understand. The noble Lord has been here long enough. How does legislation get effected in this Parliament?
This is a simple question to the noble Lord. I am very well aware of the procedures. Is he saying that the Government will bring forward the legislation before the treaty is ratified or that the legislation would need to be passed by Parliament before it is ratified? In other words, he will not just bring it forward and then ratify the treaty before Parliament has approved it. It is a simple question, to which I would like a simple answer.
I have answered the point repeatedly. I said it in my opening contribution and I will not continue this up and down dialogue.
I think the House well understands that we did not get an answer to that question. There are many other points that I could make and many questions that have not been answered. He did not respond to any of the points from my noble friends Lord Ahmad or Lord Wolfson, so I hope he will be able to do so in writing. In the meantime, I would like to test the opinion of the House.