 "The photograph shows military aircraft stationed at the joint US-UK base at the Diego Garcia island in the Chagos Islands archipelago. (Photo: AFP)")
The British government has said that the control of a military satellite system needed for operations at the Diego Garcia military base is a key driver of the Chagos Islands deal.
In October 2024, the British and Mauritian government agreed that the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, an archipelago of around 60 islands in the Indian Ocean, would be transferred to Mauritius. Under the deal, the British government will have the Diego Garcia islands, the largest of these islands that hosts a British-UK joint military base, on a lease of 99 years.
The Chagos Islands deal reached by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s government has been criticised for surrendering up a strategic foothold in the Indian Ocean that critical to operations in the Indo-Pacific and West Asia regions. The base is deemed critical to checking the influence of China in the Indo-Pacific region.
Amid mounting criticism, Starmer’s government has said that access to key military satellites system cannot be ensured without such a deal and the Diego Garcia base cannot be operated without access to the satellite system.
Starmer govt makes case for Chagos Islands deal
To operate the Diego Garcia military base securely, the British and US militaries require access to military communication satellites.
A spokesperson of Starmer said that such access cannot be ensured without the deal with Mauritius, according to AFP.
The spokesperson said that “the electromagnetic spectrum at the Diego Garcia base would not be able to continue to operate without a deal”.
The spokesperson further said, “This system enables secure communications in the region. It’s something that the UK and the US have currently got unique access to, and it is the case that without legal certainty over the base (it) is something we would lose access to.”
Impact Shorts
More ShortsCurrently, the US and British governments have complete, unrestricted control to electromagnetic spectrum at the Diego Garcia military base on the islands, but that would not be certain if an international court were to declare such control illegal as per international law, according to Bloomberg.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the rejected the British sovereignty of Chagos Islands and asked it to be transferred to Mauritius. Later, a vote in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) affirmed the ruling.
Global satellite communication is governed by International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a UN agency. As the UN’s court and General Assembly have already ruled against British sovereignty, a ruling regarding satellite communication would have consequences for defence and technology companies involved in the operation of the satellites. Moreover, the ruling would also erode the exclusive control over the spectrum that US and British militaries currently have there.
Under the terms of the deal being negotiated, a buffer zone would be created around Diego Garcia in which the British government would have to provide consent for the construction of any sites or installations that could threaten national security, officials told Bloomberg.
This means that the access to spectrum and satellites would be ensured.
The deal would also prohibit foreign intelligence officials from operating in the Chagos Islands, the officials said.