Handing over the Chagos Islands is a grave mistake

The British government’s decision to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is a profound strategic error, rooted in a misunderstanding of international law and a failure to protect the UK’s vital national interests. Surrendering sovereignty over the Islands will have a deleterious effect on British and allied interests just as international strategic competition intensifies. It will undermine the overwhelmingly strong legal case for the UK’s continuing sovereignty in relation to a number of other crucial British territories. The government’s decision erodes sound legal principle for the sake of short-term point-scoring in an irrelevant diplomatic game. The government has blundered – Parliament and the public must hold it to account.

The Chagos Islands, including strategically crucial Diego Garcia, have been under British control since 1814. For over two centuries, the UK has exercised sovereignty over this territory, which hosts a vital US-UK military base on Diego Garcia, leased by the UK to the United States after London withdrew its forces from east of the Suez Canal.