Africa-Press – Mauritius. David Snoxell, needs no introduction as he has been a privileged witness, actor or advisor on the long humanitarian, legal and constitutional battles for the Mauritius claim to Chagos sovereignty, either as British High Commissioner or as Coordinator of the UK Parliament’s Chagos Islands All-Party Parliamentary Group.
He offers valuable insight into the final steps towards resolution of the “Chagos tragedy” through diplomacy and compromises that would push through the necessity to implement Mauritius sovereignty while not undermining the current UK/US confidence in a continuation of the US Diego aero-naval base for regional security purposes.
If the UK Foreign Minister’s time table for completion of the many complex issues by early 2023 was overly optimistic, his view is that, despite some opposition from motivated quarters, most if not all issues related to Chagos sovereignty transfer to Mauritius could be satisfactorily resolved within a couple of years.
Mauritius Times: We learnt last week about a coup engineered by a group of Tory MPs to take over the Chagos Islands All Party Parliamentary Group, perceived to have been controlled by “supporters of the FCDO” that would be planning “to give the islands away to Mauritius”.
The coup’s organisers say, “giving the islands away will cut crucial access to the Indian and Pacific Oceans and give China undue influence in the region,” and they want the Mauritius-UK negotiations to stop. This looks like a rearguard action to scuttle any agreement that may be in the offing. What’s your take on that?
David Snoxell: What has been dubbed a “coup” was in fact an election of the Chairman by Parliamentarians.
This process happens each year at the Annual General Meeting. For the last year the APPG has had a Labour Chairman together with vice-chairs from other parties.
This year there was a much increased presence of Conservative MPs who voted in a new Conservative Chair, Henry Smith who was a vice-chair and has a large Chagossian community in his constituency.
It is normal practice to have a member of the party in government as the chairman of an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). The other 3 vice-chairs elected this year are from the Labour, SNP, and Lib-Dem parties.
Members of the APPG have a range of views concerning the future of the Chagos. They are wholly supportive of the right of return for the exiled Chagossians but views differ as to whether this should take place under British or Mauritian control. Most of the 52 members support a negotiated settlement with Mauritius to include resettlement and security for the base on Diego Garcia.
* The China bogey has been canvassed earlier by former PM Boris Johnson, who stated to the Daily Mail, last September, that “Britain is surrendering UK-owned territory the Chagos Islands to a close ally of China.
” It’s an “utterly spineless” decision to abandon the islands, he said.
Johnson’s motives are clear, but the question really is whether he can influence the British government to turn the clock back in case any progress has indeed been achieved on the Chagos issue.
What do you think? When he was Foreign Secretary in 2016, Boris Johnson met PM Sir Anerood Jugnauth at the UN and agreed to talks about the future of the Chagos Islands.
It is unlikely that today his views carry any weight with Rishi Sunak or the new foreign secretary David Cameron. It is inevitable that there are some British politicians, academics and news reporters who see China as a major security threat to the UK.
It is perhaps not surprising that they see any change in the status of Diego Garcia as a threat to security, especially when it concerns the return of the territory to Mauritius after nearly 60 years under British control.
The current UK/Mauritius negotiations address the exercise of sovereignty, including the base on Diego Garcia, the long-term future of which can only be secured by an agreement.
Mauritius strongly supports the continuation of the UK/US base. Its closest ties are with India, not China, and it maintains excellent relations with the UK, US, and France.
It is inconceivable that Mauritius would make the islands available to China or prioritise its relations with China over those with the US and UK. The US fully supports a negotiated settlement to this long-standing dispute. The ICJ decision and the overwhelming UNGA resolution endorsing it makes an agreement on the basis of international law necessary and inevitable.
* It’s interesting to note that the Daily Mail appears to be the only paper in the UK to talk about the US’s alleged concerns about the transfer of the Diego Garcia base.
Sam Greenhill, its Chief Reporter wrote in its 22 Sep 2023 edition that “Washington has been increasingly concerned by the growing relationship between Mauritius and China,” and “the (transfer) plan has triggered ‘serious concerns’ in the White House.
” The suspicion here is that this line is being fed by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, which is known to have a long-standing objection to handing over the archipelago.
Your opinion? The US Administration is firmly behind the negotiations although there may be some in Congress who are sceptical and would like the islands to remain under British control.
There is no evidence that Washington has concerns over Mauritius’ long-standing economic relationship with China. Mauritius however is not a close ally of China but is of the UK, US and EU. The Foreign Office is fully behind the negotiations and probably recommended as much to the new Government in September 2022.
* In a shock move this week, ex-PM David Cameron has been appointed by Rishi Sunak as Foreign Secretary.
Cameron is not known to have been favourable to Mauritius’ claim of sovereignty over the Chagos and to any deal with Mauritius. Do you think he’ll pursue the policy of negotiating a settlement with Mauritius, or would a decision in that regard be taken at a higher level?
Since Cameron stepped down as PM in July 2016 the position of the Chagos Islands in international law has become clear following the ICJ Advisory Opinion (2019), the UNGA resolution endorsing it, and the ITLOS judgment (2021) on the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Chagos (as part of Mauritius) and the Maldives.
I do not expect David Cameron to diverge from the policy of his predecessor and of the Prime Minister which is to uphold international law and bring the UK/Mauritius negotiations to a successful conclusion.
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