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Written Question
Chagos Islands: Sovereignty
Friday 6th June 2025

Asked by: Katie Lam (Conservative - Weald of Kent)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has a line in his Departmental budget for costs arising from the planned transfer of sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Costs relating to the Chagos agreement will be incurred from financial year 2026-27. These are being considered as part of the wider Government engagement on the second phase of the Spending Review, which concludes on 11 June 2025. The deal secures the unrestricted control of the Diego Garcia military base for the coming century and beyond. The deal is backed by our US, Canadian, Indian, Australian, New Zealand and NATO allies.