MS-9:

[Simon Bleyer]

Mauritius No. 1 (2017)

 

Mr Speaker,

I rise before the House today to present this new Treaty between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the government of Mauritius.

It provides for the handover of the Chagos islands to Mauritius, who have long standing claims to the islands. We will maintain control of the island of Diego Garcia, and the critical Anglo-American military base on it. A 12 mile exclusion zone will be put into place around the island. The base will be leased to the United Kingdom at a price of £75mn a year, in perpetuity. These changes will take effect on the 1st of January 2019.

This government is committed to presenting Britain as a reliable and effective partner in the global sphere. This agreement is proof of that. It reaffirms our role as reasonable dealmakers, and leaders by example on the international stage; whilst simultaneously protecting Anglo-American interests in the region, shoring up our internationally recognised right to retain possession over Diego Garcia.

I will gladly hear the thoughts of Members on this matter, either following this statement or during the allocated Ministerial Questions time.

[Laurence Foltyn]

Mr Speaker,

I congratulate the Foreign Secretary on this great achievement. I have two questions: firstly, how was the £75mn a year figure arrived at, and will the native Chagossians soon be returning to their homeland?

[Brown]

Mr. Speaker,

I thank the Foreign Secretary for his statement. I am widely in agreement with this treaty, and intend to support it, however, I do have some concerns. My primary concern is the £75mn figure arrived at by the Government. While this figure is only slightly above the average lease payments made for bases of similar sizes, I note that our friends in the United States share this base with us--but, by the Foreign Secretary's own admission in the House, the United States will not be obligated to make any contributions to this amount, and will only be responsible for general maintenance of their portion of the base. 

I want to be clear, Mr. Speaker--I deeply value the special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States--however, the Government dropped the ball here. The United States ought to contribute its fair share to this arrangement, but instead of working with the United States to agree on making a contribution prior to making this arrangement, the Government has obligated us to pay £75mn a year, regardless of whether or not the United States agrees to contribute to this figure. Given the Foreign Secretary's answer in the House, I have little confidence that the British taxpayer will be given a reprieve from being on the hook for £75mn a year.

While I am disappointed in the Government's oversight in this regard to the expense of the British taxpayer, overall this is an appropriate settlement to a difficult question that has been unresolved for far too long. I urge the Government to correct its oversight to bring the United States to the table to contribute its fair share to our £75mn a year contribution to this lease, and to further match their contribution to inflation as we have promised in this agreement.

[Simon Bleyer]

Mr Speaker,

The figure quoted was agreed in consultation with the United States, and in negotiation with Mauritius. As per previous discussion in the House, the United States will pay for the upkeep of the base, which stretches beyond £75mn per year, whilst we will pay the lease fee.

It is not in our gift to determine who will live on the repatriated islands.