(Alliance News) - The UK is "mid-negotiation" on a revised deal to hand back the Chagos Islands, a minister has said.
Reports had suggested that Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam is holding a special cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning to sign off the deal.
But Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said the UK was still negotiating with Mauritius.
The UK and Mauritius have said they have made "good progress" on a revised agreement, with Ramgoolam claiming the UK wants it finalised before Donald Trump is sworn in as US president on January 20.
The future of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia – the largest island in the Chagos archipelago – might be secured for only 50 years rather than the 99 years initially discussed, media reports have suggested.
"We are mid-negotiation with the Mauritian government on the Chagos Islands," Jones told LBC.
"Listeners will probably know, I suspect, that this is an island that is an important military base for the UK, important to our national security. It's right, therefore, that we secure our presence and operations on that island."
The government is negotiating a "long-term lease" to continue operations on the military base, he said.
"But what I can't tell you now is the kind of details, because they are mid-negotiation. That will get presented in the normal way to Parliament, like any other treaty, in due course."
Downing Street has also refused to be drawn into saying whether the 99-year lease on the Diego Garcia base could be shortened to 50 years as part of the deal.
A No 10 spokesman said it was a "long-term deal" and that the UK would not agree to a deal that is "not on our terms".
The spokesman also denied the UK was trying to get a deal over the line before Trump is inaugurated as president, saying there has never been an exact date set to finalise it.
Senior figures in the incoming US administration have voiced doubts about the deal as it could weaken US influence in the Indian Ocean, where China is seeking to strengthen its ties.
The UK is said to be considering sweetening the deal by frontloading payments to Mauritius.
The cost to the British taxpayer of giving up the islands and leasing back the base for 99 years is something Downing Street has repeatedly refused to be drawn on.
Newspapers have reported the offer stands at around GBP90 million per year.
In the Commons on Tuesday, the Conservatives urged caution from the government and suggested ministers hold off for at least a week, given hostility to the proposed arrangement from Trump's allies.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy insisted that "the White House, State Department and the Pentagon believe that this is a good deal".
The Financial Times newspaper has reported ministers are considering delaying signing the deal to await Trump's blessing.
The UK struck a deal with Ramgoolam's predecessor to cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands – also known as the British Indian Ocean Territory – but lease back the strategically important UK-US military base on Diego Garcia for at least 99 years.
But the proposed agreement, which includes the UK paying an annual sum of money, was made before elections in both Mauritius and the US and has run into trouble since the results of those contests.
By Helen Corbett, PA Political Correspondent
Press Association: News
source: PA
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