On Thursday May 22, 2025, UK and Mauritius signed the Agreement. The much-touted Chagos deal is now official.
Let’s revisit the timeline.
In October 2024, Jugnauth announced that a framework for a deal had been reached with the United Kingdom concerning the Chagos Archipelago. While the pact was still being finalized and specific terms remained confidential, strategic leaks during the election campaign suggested that Mauritius stood to gain a financial windfall. Then the election came. Jugnauth was voted out. In came twice-ousted Navin Ramgoolam who expressed strong reservations about the tentative agreement. He rejected the deal struck by his arch-enemy on the grounds that it allegedly compromised Mauritian sovereignty.
On November 25, 2024, Ramgoolam met with British envoy Jonathan Powell; he reportedly expressed serious reservations about the proposed agreement. He made it clear he would not sign it in its current form. He deputized his newly-minted Attorney General to go negotiate a better deal.
Meanwhile, reports started to emerge that the British needed Trump’s stamp of approval to formalize the agreement. As unpredictable as he is, the American president was expected to oppose the deal and that would have effectively been the end of discussion.
On February 27, 2025, Trump surprised everybody when he said he didn’t oppose the deal. Bottles of champagne popped in earnest and cigars were lit on Paradise Island. Time to celebrate. Time to start counting. Gavin Glover thanked Trump for his help on the Chagos deal.
In April 2025, the British press reported that the two countries were finalising the deal.
On May 22, 2025, in the early morning hours, a judge issued an injunction against ratifying the Agreement. In the morning, the injunction was lifted clearing the way for the Agreement to be finally inked. Shortly after, it was signed.
Now, the question on everybody’s mind is this: Did Mauritius get a good, decent, or bad deal?
There are two elements that I find central to this Agreement: Sovereignty and Compensation. There is a third one, equally important, that was not mentioned: nuclear arms on Mauritian soil.
Sovereignty
The first three paragraphs are:
Article 1: Mauritius is sovereign over the Chagos Archipelago in its entirety, including Diego Garcia.
Article 2, Paragraph 1. As sovereign, Mauritius authorises the United Kingdom to exercise the rights and authorities of Mauritius with respect to Diego Garcia in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
Article 2, paragraph 2. The authorisation under paragraph 1 shall comprise all rights and authorities that the United Kingdom requires for the long-term, secure and effective operation of the Base, …
It ought to be evident to any reasonable observer that the negotiators have surrendered our sovereignty. The principe de souveraineté, a principle frequently invoked by Ramgoolam, to reject Jugnauth’s negotiated agreement, is non-existent but on paper (Article 1). The actual substance of sovereignty (Article 2, paragraphs 1 and 2) where the rightful owner of a property has full authority over every inch of their land – and that includes Diego Garcia – just doesn’t exist here.
Mauritius has effectively handed over its sovereign authority to the United Kingdom, which now holds full rights and control.
Compensation
The UK government will pay GBP 165m annually for the first three years and GBP 120m annually for the next 10 years thereafter.
A further sum of GBP 45m annually for 25 years towards economic development will be paid but there is a catch. The projects will be carried out by UK businesses. The bulk of these grants will therefore remain in the UK.
Legally, Chagos has been the property of Mauritius since independence in 1968. So far, that’s 57 years of using our land illegally. For 57 years, the British has rented Diego out to USA and has received something in return, in cash or in kind.
Why are we not getting any compensation for the 57 years the UK has used our land? Why did Ramgoolam not insist on arrears? He needs to answer that question. The momentum was in our favour, the courts have ruled that we are the rightful owner of Chagos. If Ramgoolam kept repeating that sovereignty was more important than financial gains, it was very likely because he knew he had failed to get the best financial terms possible from the UK. The squatter is dictating the terms of his surrendering the land he has occupied for 57 years. The landlord acquiesced. Ene mari deal!
Nuclear Island
Anyone believing that Diego Garcia is nuclear-free needs a reality check. Bombers taking off out of our land would one day go and bomb and kill innocent people. Whether a nuclear device would be used is unknown at the present time but it should not be entirely discounted. By ceding sovereignty over Diego Garcia, Mauritius would aid and abet any military adventure originating from that archipelago and would consequently be tacitly complicit. Ramgoolam conveniently crossed off his principe de souveraineté by agreeing to an agreement that allowed a military base dotted with nuclear capabilities to operate on Mauritian soil.
No one person alive in the world today will live to see Mauritius imposing its will on Diego Garcia, in the manner any truly sovereign nation would expect to over its own land. Maybe in 99 years plus another 40, but then with such destructive military forces available, there may not even be a land. A wasteland of radioactive materials quite possibly.
Saoud Baccus, Ph.D.
