Mauritius to sue Britain over Chagos delay
Island nation’s prime minister ‘exploring legal avenues’ over perceived hold-up of deal in latest setback for Starmer
Mauritius is planning to sue Britain over delays in ratifying the Chagos Islands deal.
Navin Ramgoolam, the island nation’s prime minister, said his government had begun consulting international law firms while they await the formal transfer of the Indian Ocean territory.
If ratified, the controversial deal will see the UK hand over ownership of the Indian Ocean territory to Mauritius and lease back the Diego Garcia military base on the archipelago.
“We are exploring legal avenues in the Chagos case,” Mr Ramgoolam told Defi Media, a local newspaper.
Mr Ramgoolam held ministerial talks earlier this week over the perceived delay in implementing the agreement. The meeting raised concerns that “there is no visibility as to when this [ratification] would occur”.
Mauritius is planning to sue Britain over delays in ratifying the Chagos Islands deal.
Navin Ramgoolam, the island nation’s prime minister, said his government had begun consulting international law firms while they await the formal transfer of the Indian Ocean territory.
If ratified, the controversial deal will see the UK hand over ownership of the Indian Ocean territory to Mauritius and lease back the Diego Garcia military base on the archipelago.
“We are exploring legal avenues in the Chagos case,” Mr Ramgoolam told Defi Media, a local newspaper.
The delay has unsettled Mauritian officials because the treaty formed a central element of their diplomatic strategy and economic planning.
The deal was thrown into confusion last month when Hamish Falconer, a foreign office minister, said Britain was “pausing” the process during discussions with the US.
The Government denied this was the case, but the deal is still undergoing ratification in the House of Commons and is under intense scrutiny following Donald Trump’s criticisms this week.
The US president told The Telegraph he was “very disappointed” in Sir Keir Starmer for blocking the US military from using the Diego Garcia base on the Chagos Islands to launch his strikes on Iran
Under the proposed agreement, the UK would provide an initial annual fee of around £170m to Mauritius, and total payments would amount to £35bn in cash terms over the next century, which Mauritius is planning to use to prop up its ailing public finances.
“We will have to find Rs 10 billion (£170m). We are exploring all possible avenues, but clearly the 2026-27 budget will not be an easy one,” said Mr Ramgoolam.
A senior Mauritian foreign affairs official told The Telegraph: “There is no doubt there has been, and there still, is an inordinate delay in the finalisation of the treaty after the signature of the agreement last May.
“Mauritius has always been on the right side of the law and consistently played according to the rule of law, hence the declaration of the PM.
“Small states like Mauritius have only international law and multilateral organisations to fall back on and have always favoured the diplomatic avenue to resolve issues. We are respectful of the law and will always abide by it notwithstanding provocative remarks.”
Last month, The Telegraph revealed that UK government officials expected Mauritius to launch a legal challenge if the deal collapses entirely under pressure from Mr Trump.
Ministers are concerned that Mauritius may attempt to immediately recoup much of the £35bn to be paid under the terms of the deal over the next century.
The island nation has previously successfully sued the UK over the Chagos Islands at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), using Sir Keir’s friend Philippe Sands KC as legal counsel.
The Mauritius move is the latest push-back to the Prime Minister’s plans to cede sovereignty of the islands.
The legal threat follows similar threats from the Maldives, which on Saturday told The Telegraph it was “exploring options” for a legal challenge to the Chagos deal.
The Maldives asserts a territorial claim over the archipelago, which it believes supersedes the claim made by its Mauritian neighbours.
A Maldives foreign office spokesman said that Britain’s plans were not “adequately grounded in international legal principles”.
The formal legal challenge would be most likely to be made at the International Court of Justice, Maldivian officials said.
It is the latest stumbling block for the Prime Minister’s plans, which now hang in the balance after Mr Trump said the Chagos Islands “should not be taken away from the UK”.
The US president has previously called Britain’s plans an act of “great stupidity”, although he has changed his stance on the issue on several occasions.
It is understood the UK cannot go ahead with the deal without the blessing of the US, which operates the Diego Garcia military base jointly with Britain.
As with the current conflict in the Middle East, the US needs approval from the UK before launching any attack from Diego Garcia.
Native Chagossians are also attempting to establish a permanent settlement in their ancestral homeland on one of the archipelago’s uninhabited islands.
Misley Mandarin, the Chagossian first minister and three other islanders currently based there will be able to stay on Īle du Coin until at least March 13.
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