Mauritius' deputy prime minister has hinted that talks with the UK over the future of the Chagos Islands are being delayed because of the amount of money involved.
Under the terms of the initial agreement, which was announced in October, the UK would relinquish Mauritius' sovereignty over the archipelago but retain a 99-year lease for Diego Garcia, home to a major British-US military base.
As part of the deal, the UK said it would provide a package of financial support to Mauritius, including annual payments and infrastructure investment, but neither side said what amount was involved.
However, the new Mauritian government, elected after the agreement, has said it wants to see some changes.
The proposed deal has also drawn criticism in the UK, with the opposition Conservative Party calling it a “monumental failure of government”.
When the agreement was first announced after years of talks, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and then-Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth called it “an important moment in our relationship and a demonstration of our enduring commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes and rule of law”.
It sought to end decades of uncertainty and dispute over the status of the islands.
In a joint statement released on Friday, the UK and Mauritius said they were committed “to finalizing an agreement as quickly as possible” which included both the “secure and effective operation of the existing Diego Garcia base and that Mauritius is sovereign over the archipelago “.
They added that “ongoing talks” had been productive.
The new Mauritian government, elected in a landslide last month, has not made clear publicly exactly what its problems with the deal are.
But speaking to his constituents on Sunday, Deputy Premier Paul Berenger talked about the money invested.
“This base existed on our land, on our territory… but it is not only about (our) sovereignty. There are some things you cannot accept if you are a true patriot. They are trying to get us to sign and they are fighting over a small amount,” he said.
Speaking in parliament last week about the talks, Berenger admitted that Mauritius needed “money to get out of the economic mess that the previous government got us into, but not at any cost, not under any conditions”.
Addressing MPs on Friday, Prime Minister Naveen Ramgoolam said the UK was keen to complete the deal “before (Donald) Trump is sworn in as president on January 20”.
Marco Rubio, Trump's pick for secretary of state, described the deal as a threat to US security.
Last week in the UK House of Commons, Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel accused the Labor government of putting the UK's national security at risk by neglecting Chagossian interests and “letting our position crumble” in an increasingly dangerous world.
“How much will the British taxpayer be liable for each year and in total for 99 years?” she asked.
Foreign Secretary Stephen Doughty insisted the deal would enhance, not harm, UK security, saying it would protect the operation of the military base and ensure it is “on a secure footing into the next century”.
In recent years, the United Kingdom has faced increasing diplomatic isolation over its claims to what it calls the British Indian Ocean Territory, with various United Nations bodies – including the high court and the general assembly – overwhelmingly siding with Mauritius and urging the United kingdom to surrender what some called “the last colony in Africa”.
The Mauritian government has long argued that it was illegally forced to give up the Chagos Islands in exchange for its own independence from the United Kingdom in 1968.
Until recently, the United Kingdom insisted that Mauritius itself had no legal claim to the islands.