Getty PhotosThe UK’s deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius might be met with “outright hostility” by the Trump administration, Nigel Farage has predicted.
The Reform UK chief, a supporter and buddy of the incoming US president, informed MPs the settlement would put the UK at odds with an vital ally.
He added that Donald Trump’s advisers had safety considerations, amid claims the deal may increase China’s affect within the area.
However International Workplace minister Stephen Doughty mentioned he was assured the “full element” of the association would allay considerations.
It had gained backing “throughout the nationwide safety equipment in the US”, he added.
Below the deal, the UK will hand over sovereignty of the islands whereas retaining management over a joint UK-US navy base on the island of Diego Garcia, for an “preliminary interval” of 99 years.
The UK authorities says the accord, which it hopes to ratify subsequent yr, will finish authorized uncertainty over the islands following worldwide rulings backing Mauritian claims to sovereignty.
However the strategic significance of the archipelago, recognized formally because the British Indian Ocean Territory, has prompted criticism that the settlement will ship a safety increase to China.
Plenty of US Republicans have attacked the deal, which has been backed by the outgoing Biden authorities, though Trump himself has not commented publicly on it.
‘Vacuum’ warning
Talking within the Commons, Farage mentioned the UK would discover “outright hostility” to the deal among the many subsequent US administration, including it had been an “monumental mistake” to enroll to it earlier than final week’s presidential election.
He mentioned he knew this due to time he had spent in America within the aftermath of the election, and since he knew the incoming defence secretary, Fox Information host Pete Hegseth, “very effectively”.
He added that Michael Waltz, anticipated to grow to be Trump’s nationwide safety adviser, “has kind” on the subject, having written a letter to Biden’s secretary of state Antony Blinken in 2022 throughout talks below the earlier Tory authorities.
Within the letter, published on his website at the time, the Republican congressman warned that China would “benefit from the ensuing vacuum” if the UK handed over sovereignty of the islands.
“Diego Garcia was described to me by a senior Trump adviser as crucial island on the planet, so far as America was involved,” Farage informed MPs.
He mentioned persevering with with the deal would put the UK “at battle with a rustic with out which we might be defenceless”.
‘Not sustainable’
Doughty dismissed Farage’s criticism, arguing authorized uncertainty over the Chagos Islands threatened the “safe and efficient operation” of the bottom on Diego Garcia.
He added that given earlier findings in opposition to the UK, a legally binding ruling siding with Mauritian sovereignty claims “appeared inevitable” in some unspecified time in the future, creating authorized uncertainty over the bottom that was “not sustainable”.
He mentioned the deal contained measures to forestall overseas presence within the “outer islands”, and had additionally been welcomed by all elements of “the US system”.
He added the UK was wanting ahead to working with the Trump administration, saying: “I’m certain that they’ll being briefed on the complete element of this deal.
“I’m assured that the small print of this association will allay any considerations.”
Negotiations on a deal started below the earlier Conservative authorities in 2022, however a number of senior Tories have additionally spoken out in opposition to the deal.
Shadow overseas secretary Dame Priti Patel, who left authorities two months earlier than negotiations started below Rishi Sunak, mentioned the accord would “give away a key strategic asset” within the Indian Ocean.
Different Tories to have criticised the deal embody James Cleverly, who took half in negotiations himself as overseas secretary however has since described Labour’s proposed settlement as “weak”.
