In a self-defeating move, Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed to cede control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a country that has never ruled them, last summer. Chagos, a chain of islands in the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia, hosts the highly specialized Diego Garcia airbase.
The Chagos Islanders are not happy with the agreement and were not consulted. The incoming Trump administration is worried. So are some European allies.
The most painful thing is that our leaders may have fallen victim to what the Russians call a special influence operation, when the Kremlin used their diplomatic and other types of powers; say espionage or money, working with others to pressure the UK.
The fear is that Lammy and Starmer may have been, in part, played by the Kremlin.
Some agree with that. The respected Royal United Services Institute reported: “Russia saw this case as a way to pressure the UK, and it seems to have succeeded.” The result is that we are giving British territory to a friend of China and Russia, and then paying for the privilege of renting it back. It is clearly the worst security agreement in our history.
Deigo Garcia airbase is important because it is located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, and in an increasingly dangerous world we must maintain long-term control over our bases, even if this is mainly used by the United States, our closest friend.
The world is becoming more dangerous. Putin is winning in Ukraine. He will try to break up NATO again. His shadow war against the West – and he seems to hate Britain in particular – is underway. The head of the MI5 spy agency, Ken McCallum, said that Russian spies had been in “the active role of bringing chaos to the streets of Britain and Europe: we have seen arson, vandalism and more.” It’s not tabloid journalistic hyperbole or James Bond fiction, but our local spy agency.
In Russia’s international struggle, it uses diplomatic and espionage tools to deceive others, especially in the developing world, against us. However, it is not only Russia that is creating a conflicting state. China is preparing to invade Taiwan by force in 2027. It doesn’t mean it will happen, but when the dictators are ready for war, they tend to proceed that way.
If our adversaries see us as ignorant or powerless to defend our interests, it will make the conflict less intense. Both Russia and China want to weaken the unity of the West and break the alliance between the US and Europe. Such an outcome will see the end of the West and the beginning of a new era where authority can be just. We risk returning to the era of state-on-state warfare.
The Chagos talks started when the Tories were in power, but were brilliantly stopped by David Cameron. As soon as the Conservatives lost the election, the deal was hammered down and agreed by the winning and struggling Labor MPs.
The Foreign Secretary said the base is now secure. It’s not like that. Around Diego Garcia is the sea. If these waters are ours, we can police them to prevent unwanted visitors. Protecting them also keeps the oceans clean from overfishing. Loss of free will harm the environment as well as our security.
Russia and other countries are working hard against us. Maybe they did it here.
Our wartime leader Winston Churchill was born 150 years ago this week. The old man reminded us that weakness encourages oppressors, while strength restrains them.
There’s still time to kill this deal. We should do that.
Dr. Bob Seely’s book, The Return of All War, Russia’s War in Ukraine and the Attack on the Westpublished by Biteback in the Spring
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