Mauritius suggests it will help keep Iran at bay if Chagos deal finalized

Chagos archipelago
Chagos archipelago

Mauritius urged the United States to finalize a deal ceding sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, vowing not to let any third party overrun the Indian Ocean territory - in a likely reference to Western adversaries Iran and China.

"If we manage to reach a deal, that will help us secure the base and prevent a third party from entering the base," said Dhananjay Ramful, the foreign minister of the African island country in the Indian Ocean.

"That would be in the interest of the US, UK and Mauritius.”

Ramful made the comments after Mauritian President Dharam Gokhool said in a speech on Monday that the country was still pushing to restore sovereignty over the archipelago that includes Diego Garcia, which houses a key US nuclear airbase.

Under the proposed agreement, the UK would cede control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The remote strategic archipelago includes Diego Garcia, which Britain would then lease back for 100 years at a cost of £9 billion.

In an opinion piece for the right-leaning UK newspaper the Telegraph, Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy warned against what he called giving away the Chagos Islands, saying Mauritius was vulnerable to the influence of hostile powers.

“If Mauritius is growing its friendships with China and Iran, how can we expect it to keep our adversaries’ spies away from our base?” Kennedy wrote.

“It’s hard to believe that China and Iran aren’t trying to pull Mauritius into their axis and away from the West.”

While Mauritius's prime minister recently called for closer ties with Beijing, Ramful dismissed suggestions the deal would benefit China, noting, "We are the only African country that has refused to sign the Belt and Road initiative with China."

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), also called the New Silk Road, is China's global infrastructure strategy launched in 2013 to invest in over 150 countries and organizations.

Ramful said inking a deal on the future of the base benefits Washington.

"It is in the interest of the US to secure this base. And how do we secure this base? It’s by coming to an agreement that contains all the terms and conditions for the base to be operated by the US without interference from anybody.”

The Telegraph reported earlier this week that top Republicans are urging US President Donald Trump to block UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s Chagos Islands deal, fearing it could facilitate Iranian espionage on US military operations.