US Republicans fear UK Chagos Islands deal will boost China

WASHINGTON D.C. — Senior U.S. Republicans attacked the British government for its decision to cede control of the Chagos Islands, warning the move is a coup for Chinese interests. 

The chairs of both the Senate and House foreign affairs committees warned the deal, struck Thursday, could put U.S. and U.K. security at risk. The British government has agreed to hand power over the disputed Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, which has links with Beijing and struck a free trade agreement with China in 2021.

Under the terms of the deal, the military base Diego Garcia, used by the U.S. government to house navy ships and long-range bomber aircraft, will remain in U.K. and U.S. jurisdiction for at least the next 99 years.

The British government insisted its U.S. allies were foursquare behind the move, after a report claimed Washington raised concerns about the decision with the U.K.

But top Republican lawmakers echoed criticism from Conservatives in Britain that conceding to the long-standing Mauritian campaign for control of the islands could be a mistake. 

Idaho Senator James Risch, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a Donald Trump supporter, said the move “gives in to Chinese lawfare and yields to pressure from unaccountable international institutions like the International Court of Justice at the expense of U.S. and U.K. strategic and military interests.”

He added: “The U.S. and our allies must take a long term approach when it comes to making decisions that affect our strategic competition with China, or we will all lose.”

Texas Representative Michael McCaul, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the Diego Garcia base was “essential” to countering China and co-ordinating partners in the Indo-Pacific, adding: “The administration must ensure that U.S. security interests in the Indo-Pacific are protected by this agreement.”

‘Foreign policy fumble’

Conservative thinkers in the U.S. also weighed in against the move by the new Labour government in the U.K. “Of course this deal benefits China,” said Luke Coffey, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute think tank and a former adviser to British Defense Secretary Liam Fox. 

“People should not let the 99 year use of the military base in Diego Garcia by the U.S. and the UK provide any comfort,” he added. “Just look at the regrets and consequences resulting from the transfer of Hong Kong in 1997 under a similar arrangement.

“This was the first major foreign policy fumble by the Labour government. If I was a Falkland Islander or a Gibraltarian I would be a little nervous.”

U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that the deal was “a clear demonstration that through diplomacy and partnership, countries can overcome long-standing historical challenges to reach peaceful and mutually beneficial outcomes.”

Nevertheless, a report in The Times newspaper said U.S. officials warned the Labour administration in Britain against handing the islands to Mauritius, due to fears the Chinese could use them to house listening posts.

A U.K. government spokesperson insisted: “We strongly reject these claims. This historic agreement, welcomed by the U.S. president and the U.S. Department of State, will secure the future of the U.K.-U.S. military base on Diego Garcia.

“For the first time in over 50 years, the base will be undisputed and legally secure with full Mauritian backing and is now more protected than ever from foreign malign influence.”

Others supported the deal. David Vine, co-ordinator of Chagossian advocacy group Let Us Return USA, said the agreement “could have been done decades ago.”

He said it was a “major exclusion” to exclude Diego Garcia from the right of return for Chagossians. The U.K. and U.S. expelled the islanders when the area was detached from Mauritius.

A 2019 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, which adjudicates on disputes between nations, found that the detachment of the Chagos Islands from Mauritius was “not based on the free and genuine expression of the will of the people concerned.”

It said the U.K. was “under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible.”

Phelim Kine contributed to this report.