Chagos Islands Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Lord Stirrup
Main Page: Lord Stirrup (Crossbench - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Stirrup's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(2 days, 3 hours ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
The numbers that have been quoted are completely incorrect. This is an agreement with Mauritius that we have worked out respectfully and collaboratively. The characterisation that the noble Lord puts forward is not correct.
Lord Stirrup (CB)
My Lords, if we are to spend such large sums of money on the lease of an overseas military base, it is important that that base remains viable. What measures are being put in place to ensure that Diego Garcia is protected from surveillance of hostile powers, such as China?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
The noble and gallant Lord is completely right. The security of the base is one of the reasons why we felt we wanted to make sure we had a stable, legal agreement. There will be provisions within the agreement that prevent the things that he is concerned about.