Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Annex 1(1)(i) of the treaty entitled UK/Mauritius: Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia, published on 22 May 2025, what steps he is taking to prevent artificial (a) land and (b) seabed development by other countries with access to Diego.

The United Kingdom controls access to Diego Garcia under Annex 1.1.b and only the United Kingdom has unrestricted ability to manage, use and develop the land and surrounding waters and seabed in Diego Garcia. Mauritius and the United Kingdom will jointly decide on the construction or emplacement of any artificial islands between twelve and twenty-four nautical miles surrounding the island of Diego Garcia – this means nothing can happen without UK agreement.