Britain will await approval from Donald Trump before signing a controversial deal on relinquishing control of the Chagos Islands, it has been revealed.
Sir Keir Starmer’s government had reportedly been optimistic about a deal to cede control of the islands to Mauritius, following a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), before the US president-elect is inaugurated on 20 January.
But officials briefed on the talks told the Financial Times that while “good progress” has been made in the protracted talks with Mauritius, they are no longer seeking to push through a deal before Mr Trump returns to the White House.
The president-elect has made it clear that he does not agree with the Biden administration over the handover of the British Indian Ocean colony and would seek to block or veto it once he is in office.
The island is home to a crucial UK-US military base and Mr Trump’s incoming officials have expressed concern that Chinese influence over Mauritius could undermine the use of this facility. There are also concerns over the possibility that Mauritius could lease a nearby island to China.
The UK has offered to frontload a tranche of payments to Mauritius for the proposed 99-year lease of Diego Garcia, the largest atoll in the archipelago and home to the crucial defence base.
The Mauritian government will hold a special Cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning to discuss these latest proposals and, potentially, approve them.
Reports from Mauritius suggest that the deal “is almost done”, although one senior government source there told The Independent that he was “startled” by suggestions it was to be signed in the next few days.
However, another source in the Mauritian government told The Daily Telegraph: “We intend to agree before January 20.
“The PM has decided to discuss it in the cabinet on Wednesday and all the ministers are on the same page, supporting prime minister [Navin] Ramgoolam on the agreement. The deal will be concluded this week.
“We understand Keir Starmer’s government is facing immense internal pressure, but we will have historic news this week for the people of both countries. It will be in the interests of both the nations.”
The ICJ ruled in 2019 that the islands belonged to Mauritius because it used to be the colonial administrative centre for the islands.
However, the last Tory foreign secretary Lord David Cameron shelved the talks and critics have pointed out that the ICJ ruling status is only advisory.
Foreign secretary David Lammy and Sir Keir have argued that they had no choice to do the deal which they have described as “good” and secures the use of the crucial Diego Garcia base for at least 99 years.
However, Trump’s advisers and critics of the deal in the UK are concerned about the status of the crucial base, a potential block on nuclear weapons being taken to the island and the possibility that Mauritius could lease a nearby island to China.
But the real problems with getting the dea over the line came after the change of government in Mauritius last year with new prime minister Navin Ramgoolam saying the deal was “not good enough”.
Reports have suggested that the UK has resolved the disagreement by promising to front load payments for the use of Diego Garcia.
