Studies earlier this week steered Defence Secretary Grant Shapps is able to pull the plug on the International Workplace’s plan handy the islands – collectively often called the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) – to Mauritius, which is 310 miles away. The Telegraph reported Mr Shapps as being “alarmed” on the risk, fearing it will jeopardise relations with the US, which has a army base on the island of Diego Garcia.
Regardless, Mr Smith, the MP for Crawley in Sussex, instructed Specific.co.uk he remained involved. He defined: “I’ve detected that the federal government has barely rowed again for the reason that article was printed a couple of days in the past. I simply occurred to stumble upon Lord Ahmed, the Abroad Territories minister yesterday, and I discussed that and he kind of pulled a face barely and mentioned he does not know that that essentially is the case.
“So I feel the image is not very clear and I do not assume now we have but seen a U-turn by the federal government absolutely on the difficulty. However I have been banging on about this, the sovereignty problem, ever for the reason that negotiations began simply over a 12 months in the past.
“And I’ve deep considerations, as do many different folks and that is what I’ve raised on the ground of the Home, each with the International Secretary and with the brand new Defence Secretary on the final defence questions a few weeks in the past on the strategic significance of Diego Garcia. It is extremely necessary strategically.
“We’re coming into a brand new Chilly Conflict with Russia and China and different malign actors like Iran, which is clearly inflicting all the issues we’re seeing for the time being within the Center East.
“It’s necessary not simply UK safety, however the US and Western safety extra usually talking, significantly whenever you’ve received an expansionist China within the area, and Mauritius, who’re just about in hock to China as effectively.”
Mr Smith, who’s a member of the International Affairs Committee and the International Affairs sub-committee on the Abroad Territories, mentioned he had raised his considerations with Mr Shapps throughout a non-public assembly the day after his appointment, throughout which he confused the significance of the Authorities “pausing and reconsidering”.
Referring to a decision by the Worldwide Court docket of Justice in 2019 calling for sovereignty of the islands to be handed over to Mauritius, he continued: “This courtroom judgement, the worldwide courtroom judgement, it isn’t like a courtroom of legislation.
“It is mainly all of our enemies lining as much as say Britain’s a horrible colonial energy and to present issues again. The likes of the Chinese language, the Russians, the Iranians – in fact they will vote in opposition to Britain.”
Requested what he thought would occur subsequent, Mr Smith mentioned: “I believe the place we could find yourself is that Diego Garcia stays below British sovereignty as long as the army base is required, which is frankly very very long time, and the outer islands, that are fairly a couple of 100 nautical miles away from Diego Garcia, perhaps ceded to Mauritius below some kind of settlement that no third events can are available in, primarily an anti-China clause. However treaties involving China are value not more than the paper they’re written on. Have a look at the Sino-British settlement over Hong Kong, Beijing has run roughshod over that, so the concept in 10 years time, one way or the other we’re going to have the ability to object if China begins having a presence within the Chagos Islands and be capable of do something about that’s laughable.”
The state of affairs was additionally prone to change ought to Sir Keir Starmer emerge triumphant in subsequent 12 months’s normal election, Mr Smith, who has already confirmed his intention to face down as an MP, steered. He defined: “If I dominated the world, British Indian Ocean Territory would stay British in perpetuity. I feel there isn’t any doubt as to our declare over them.
“Nevertheless, the fact is we’re in all probability going to have a change of presidency within the subsequent 12 months and the Labour place, I feel, is sort of weak on this. I can see an incoming Labour authorities simply mainly handing the islands fully over to Mauritius. So there is likely to be some benefit in a deal being carried out now, significantly on securing Diego Garcia for army functions as British and the outer islands going to Mauritius.”
There was additionally a wider threat of weakening British pursuits all over the world, Mr Smith emphasised. He mentioned: “I feel this units a very harmful precedent for different abroad territories and the sovereign base areas in Cyprus, significantly these uninhabited or sparsely inhabited territories. I am considering of South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands and others all over the world the place you recognize, if the Chagos Islands goes, a precedent is ready then that might be utilized by different international locations – Argentina being the plain one, to try to declare sovereignty over islands like South Georgia and so forth.
“The distinction with locations just like the Falklands or Gibraltar is that there’s a subtle democracy that is embedded the place the folks there clearly can categorical an opinion of self-determination. And that is what each Gibraltar and the Falklands have carried out overwhelmingly each time they’ve had referendums on the difficulty.”
Pressed with regards to the Chagos Islands throughout a visit to Washington yesterday, International Secretary Lord Cameron instructed reporters: ”On the difficulty of the very important US air base at Diego Garcia, when overseas secretaries and secretaries of state get collectively, they typically talk about the significance of the property that we share and use all over the world, and that is a vital one, and we touched on that this afternoon.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, standing alongside Lord Cameron, mentioned of the US base: ”It allows our personal assist for regional stability; provides us a capability to reply quickly to crises, and in addition to counter a number of the most difficult threats that we face.
”We recognise UK sovereignty over British Indian Ocean Territory. However it is a bilateral matter for the UK and Mauritius to work out and we assist their engagement to resolve the variations.”