0:00
So it is a good deal. It's essential for our national security
0:04
We'll be saying we shouldn't be spending any money at all giving away our own sovereign territory to Mauritius, not least
0:12
And from a military perspective, I'd be really intrigued by your response to this. When there is a clause in the deal saying that the UK is to inform Mauritius of any warlike activity conducted from it
0:23
Now, defence and security experts are now worried that Mauritius might pass on information to their friends in China and Russia
0:32
That's hugely concerning, isn't it? I think that's a complete mischaracterisation. Mauritius is a Commonwealth ally
0:40
They agree with us that China is a threat. There are clauses built into the contract that specifically exclude countries like China and Russia from developing anything anywhere near the base
0:53
So the checks that the contracts have gone through have gone through the American system
0:58
I might say the Americans, the Australians, the Canadians, the New Zealanders, they've all welcomed this deal because they know how vital it is for the five eyes intelligence sharing operations in the Indo-Pacific
1:09
So it's not right to say that Mauritius is a threat. They are a close friend of ours
1:14
They are not associated with China. They're an ally of India more than any other country
1:18
Yet the person who was sitting on the ICJ when this was kind of floated
1:23
and Lord Hermer and others suddenly decided this was a great idea
1:27
this Chagos giveaway, is a member of the Chinese Communist Party. Well, I'm not aware of that, I'm afraid
1:35
But as I say, the negotiations have been checked off by the Americans
1:39
by the Trump administration, through all of the interagency process that includes all of the American security agencies
1:46
And they're happy with the deal. They're happy it secures our interests in the area from countries like China and Russia
