British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday he was determined to find a resolution to the disputed status of a U.S.-British military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.
– Britain last year agreed a deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after more than two centuries of control, while retaining a 99-year lease over its biggest island, Diego Garcia, and its strategic military base.
– But the legislation required to implement the agreement was paused because of opposition from the United States with U.S. President Donald Trump describing the deal earlier this year as a “big mistake”.
– Speaking to reporters on the way to New York for a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, Burnham said he would work with Mauritius and the United States to find a solution, acknowledging that no agreement had yet been reached.
– “We remain determined to secure the long-term operation of the base, which is crucial to our security and that of our allies,” he said.
– Earlier, Burnham spoke to his Mauritian counterpart, Navin Ramgoolam, and they agreed their foreign ministers should meet at the U.N. General Assembly, according to a statement from Downing Street.
– “The assurance I gave was I will work towards a resolution,” Burnham said. “At the moment we don’t have that, but I gave an assurance that I would commit to working towards one“.
– While Britain has already signed the treaty with Mauritius, the bill needed to enact the handover has yet to complete its passage through the British parliament.
– Under the deal negotiated by Burnham’s predecessor, Britain would retain control of Diego Garcia base for almost a century in return for payments to Mauritius worth 101 million pounds ($134.99 million) per year – calculated to be worth 3.4 billion pounds over the lifetime of the deal.