The new government in Mauritius has put the deal over Chagos Islands with the United Kingdom in jeopardy.
In a historic deal announced in October, the British and Mauritian governments agreed that the UK would hand over the sovereignty of Chagos Islands, a cluster of some 60 islands around 1,000 kilometres from Indian subcontinent, to Mauritius and secure a 99-year lease for the strategic US-UK military base at Diego Garcia, which is located on one of the islands of the archipelago.
Weeks after the deal was announced, Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, who presided over the negotiations of the deal, lost elections in a landslide defeat. The new government of PM Navinchandra Ramgoolam ordered a review of the deal soon after taking over the administration and last week announced that it has essentially junked the deal.
Ramgoolam on Tuesday (December 24) said that there were “certain things” in the deal that he could not accept.
After Ramgoolam ordered the review and submitted a counter-proposal, the British government submitted its response which is under review by the Mauritian government, according to BBC News.
The stand-off with the Ramgoolam government over the Chagos Islands deal is a major embarrassment for British PM Sir Keir Starmer, who is already dealing with unpopularity at home amid worsening economic crisis — the British economy registered 0 per cent growth in the July-September quarter. The Chagos Islands deal also generated criticism in the UK as the Conservative Party saw it as a betrayal of British and security interests in the hugely important Indo-Pacific region.
The British are quibbling on small amount, says Mauritian Deputy PM
While the Mauritian government has not made its problems with the deal public, the leaders have indicated the dispute is about the money.
Content retrieved from: https://www.firstpost.com/world/starmer-plan-for-chagos-islands-rejected-mauritius-pm-ramgoolam-floats-new-deal-13847430.html.
