Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2025 to Question 35009 on Diego Garcia: Military Bases and with reference to the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs' Oral Statement of 7 October 2024 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Negotiations, Official Report, column 46, what steps he is taking to ensure that operations at Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia remain under UK control into the next century.

The Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia is a United States defence facility. The 1966 UK-US Exchange of Notes, including the 1976 amendment, sets out that the right to operate and maintain the Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia is held by the Government of the United States. This includes functions as are necessary for the development, use, maintenance, operation and security of the facility.

The 1966 Exchange of Notes has been subject to routine amendments and supplementation since signature. The key objective of the negotiations has always been to ensure the long-term, secure and effective operation of the base on Diego Garcia and any routine future amendments to the Exchange of Notes resulting from the proposed agreement with Mauritius will be undertaken in accordance with the existing process.