Politics1 min read

Burnham wants to ‘recast’ Chagos Islands deal after US resistance

By · Via The Guardian Politics · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The original treaty negotiated by Keir Starmer offered a 99-year lease for the Diego Garcia installation alongside financial compensation, but US objections have halted the process. British leadership is now examining the US-Denmark arrangement over Greenland as a possible framework to retain territory while securing base rights. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting stressed that no final pact can proceed without unanimous agreement between London, Port Louis, and Washington. Meanwhile, the prime minister is juggling separate foreign policy challenges, including summit invitations and European Union engagement.

Key points

  • Final resolution on the Chagos archipelago requires complete trilateral consensus among t…: Final resolution on the Chagos archipelago requires complete trilateral consensus among the United Kingdom, the United States, and Mauritius.
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin will be barred from next year's G20 summit in Manchester…: Russian President Vladimir Putin will be barred from next year's G20 summit in Manchester due to sanctions, while Chinese President Xi Jinping will be welcomed.
  • Andy Burnham indicated his forthcoming ten-year economic plan regarding public control ov…: Andy Burnham indicated his forthcoming ten-year economic plan regarding public control over parts of the economy could face delays until January.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Andy Burnham has said he wants to “recast” the UK’s deal to cede control of the Chagos Islands after resistance from Washington, which said the agreement could instead be modelled on America’s Greenland deal with Denmark.

The prime minister told the Economist he wanted “a new discussion” with the US over the disputed islands, which are home to the Diego Garcia military base.

The original deal, which was struck by the former prime minister Keir Starmer and would have given sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius, has been in limbo since Donald Trump made clear he opposed it.

Burnham said: “We are in discussion with our US friends to see how we might recast the arrangement that better meets their concerns.

“We look at the Greenland deal, and obviously there was a solution reached there. Now, maybe there is something there we can take from that to see if there’s a solution that works in relation to Diego Garcia. But that is something that we’re very engaged on. We’re working hard on it, but it is challenging.”

Starmer’s government signed…

Politics