This report urges the UK Government to withdraw from the arrangement to cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius – arguing that consequential developments since the proposed deal’s announcement provide an opportunity to withdraw with honour.

Backed by former First Sea Lord and former Labour Security Minister, Rt. Hon Admiral Lord West of Spithead GCB DSC PC, the report argues that the deal is based on flawed legal reasoning that treats the International Court of Justice’s 2019 non-binding advisory opinion as if it was authoritative – and that if the proposed deal goes ahead, it would endanger the UK’s strategic position in the Indian Ocean.

The paper calls for the UK Government to withdraw immediately from the proposed deal, arguing that four developments since the deal’s announcement expose its flimsy foundations, and undermine the Government’s claim that the Diego Garcia military base’s “long-term future is… more secure under this agreement than without it”. 

In a foreword to the report, Rt Hon Admiral Lord West of Spithead GCB DSC PC writes:

“As the UK faces the most perilous geopolitical landscape in at least a generation, our overseas military bases – so indispensable to British national security – are an invaluable currency. So too is the strength and depth of our relationship with the United States.

“For reasons that are difficult to fathom, the Government risks jeopardising both of these assets as it apparently remains determined to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands – the home of our vital Diego Garcia military base – to Mauritius.”

The report builds on Policy Exchange’s previous report on the Chagos Islands, Sovereignty and Security in the Indian Ocean (2023), which set out how the return of great power competition, and an increasingly aggressive Chinese regime active throughout the region, means that the British Indian Ocean Territory is of fundamental importance to UK security and foreign policy, and that the Government should revert to the longstanding, cross-party position that the UK enjoys sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.

The launch of this report was covered by:

• • The Telegraph
  • The Daily Mail
  • The Times
  • The Independent
  • IrelandLive