Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the Rt hon. Member for New Forest East during the Oral Statement of 22 May 2025 on Diego Garcia Military Base, Official Report, column 1291, if it remains his position that the most proximate and most potentially serious legal threat that could undermine the operations of the Diego Garcia military base is an adverse ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

We have always been clear that, if a long-term deal was not reached, there was a risk of further litigation being brought rapidly which could have had serious implications for the operation of the military base on Diego Garcia.

There are various avenues through which Mauritius could pursue a legally binding ruling, including under dispute provisions of treaties to which both States are parties or further arbitral proceedings against the UK under Annex VII of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea ("UNCLOS"). A ruling from such an arbitral tribunal would be legally binding on the parties to it.