Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 June 2018 to Question 154747, and with reference to the article in the New Internationalist of 11 June 2018 entitled Catastrophic explosion risk on Diego Garcia, what assessment he has made of the US Navy’s contention that the limited space in the lagoon could lead to an explosion with catastrophic impact on personnel, ships, and shore facilities; and if he will make a statement.

The US Navy exercises considerable caution when considering explosive arcs for any of its ships. The anchorages in the lagoon are positioned such that their explosive arcs do not affect permanently inhabited areas of the island.