UK-Mauritius Agreement on the Chagos Archipelago

Lord Kerr of Kinlochard Excerpts

Monday 30th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kerr of Kinlochard (CB)]

I join the tributes to the noble Lord, Lord Boswell, whose chairing of the European Committee I greatly admired, and the tributes to an excellent maiden speech. Like father, like daughter. I also thank the two committees for their advice, but I am going to risk the wrath of the noble Lord, Lord Hannay, by focusing my five minutes on only a couple of issues about which I know something—or used to.

When I lived in Washington, I learned that it is very hard to exaggerate the importance the US attaches to the long runway, the deep-water wharf and particularly the electromagnetic spectrum control which Diego Garcia provides in a key strategic location. For the Pentagon and perhaps for the NSA, Diego Garcia may be the most important—certainly one of the most important—things we bring to the security partnership.

So, we have to ask ourselves, what would America do if harassed by possibly legally binding provisional measures—the noble Lord, Lord Wolfson of Tredegar, will correct me, but I believe they could be if the proceedings were taken under the Law of the Sea Convention—and then in due course by binding findings, we were to find ourselves in ever-increasing global isolation? What would America do? Well, I believe that the perceived need for security of tenure at DG would drive the US to fall in with the majority, recognise Mauritian sovereignty and do a deal on the base directly for Mauritius. The Americans would ditch us rather than risk Diego Garcia. Of course, they are delighted that we have done the business for them and produced the treaty; that is why they welcome it so much.

Secondly, the American factor makes it particularly baffling that the Opposition should argue that the treaty opens the door for China. If it did, why would the Trump Administration welcome it?

Thirdly, the same goes for India. The Indian Government regularly express concern that the Chinese might contrive to use their 99-year lease with the Sri Lankans on Hambantota to secure a deep-water Indian Ocean base. They would be very alarmed if they thought that China could get a better, ready-made one at Diego Garcia. But they are not alarmed; they too warmly welcome this treaty, because they think that it lays that fear to rest. Mauritius has particularly close relations with India, which is not altogether surprising, because two-thirds of Mauritians are of Indian descent.

The noble Lord, Lord Callanan, speculated about the possibility of Mauritius joining the Chinese belt and road economic partnership. Surely the interesting fact is that it is one of only two African countries that have not joined the belt and road initiative. Why would the Mauritians enrage the Indians, with whom they are very close, by helping the Chinese, whom they distrust? One has to ask: what is it that the Opposition know that Washington, India and Mauritius do not know?

The Opposition’s second point is about the money, which is also conceptually puzzling. If recognising Mauritian sovereignty is absolutely and unacceptably wrong—wrong for fundamental reasons of principle, as the noble Lord, Lord Callanan, argued—surely it would be just as wrong if we paid less money. One can take a principled position, or one can haggle about the price, but it is quite hard to do both at the same time.

I recall from my Washington days that the US pays a very substantial contribution to the running costs of the Diego Garcia base. I cannot remember the numbers and I would not know what inflation factor to use, but I am jolly well sure that it is a great deal more than we are paying to Mauritius under the new treaty. Our payments are the same order of magnitude as the French are paying for Djibouti—a base that is 1/15th the size, less well placed and much harder to defend.

The Opposition, when in office and trying to negotiate this deal, knew that the exchanges would entail substantial payments, so it is a little hypocritical now to pretend otherwise. They say that they would have played the hand better and haggled harder, but I wonder: would they really have found global isolation splendid? Would they really have been ready to see the US lose patience and do a direct deal with the Mauritians? I do not think so.

I like the Motion of the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, and I think we all admired the way he introduced it. However, I hope that the House will reject the Opposition’s Motion; I am afraid that it is irresponsible. If we passed it, we would puzzle our friends—particularly in Washington, Delhi and Mauritius—and the rest of the world. To what purpose? I would like to see CRaG changed—it needs reform—but voting against the treaty tonight will not stop its ratification. Doing so would be bad for the country and bad for the House, demonstrating both irresponsibility and impotence.