Starmer seeks strong protections for military base in Chagos deal

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer and his Mauritian counterpart Navin Ramgoolam on Friday (31) spoke directly for the first time about the Chagos Islands deal, Starmer's office said.

Britain and its former colony reached a deal last October to hand back Chagos -- which it kept control of after Mauritius gained independence in the 1960s -- provided a UK-US military base remains on the largest island, Diego Garcia.

Starmer "underlined the need for a deal to secure the military base on Diego Garcia that ensures strong protections, including from malign influence, and that will allow the base to continue to operate", said a readout of the call issued by Downing Street.

"Both leaders reiterated their commitment to a deal, and they looked forward to speaking again soon," it added.

Ramgoolam's government, in office since November, earlier reopened the talks, reportedly seeking greater financial compensation and to renegotiate the length of the proposed lease for the base.

He has also said that a prospective deal on returning the Chagos islands to Mauritius would ensure the US maintained its strategic base on the Indian Ocean archipelago.

The US base at Diego Garcia

"There is a disinformation campaign in the United States claiming that we are close to China, that we are going to let them open bases, which is completely untrue," he told the Le Mauricien newspaper on January 19.

London also said earlier this month that it would consult the administration of US president Donald Trump after some of his Republican allies criticised the deal.

Critics, including new US secretary of state Marco Rubio, are among those worried ceding control of the islands could weaken Western influence in the Indian Ocean and strengthen the reach of China.

Britain set up the Diego Garcia base after independence and leased it to the US, which has used it as a hub for long-range bombers and ships, notably during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Starmer spoke with Trump on Jan. 26 but a readout of that call did not mention the Chagos Islands.

(AFP)