Speeches by Doughty.

“I would look again at what the US and the defence secretary in the United States said about this and the support for the deal. Ultimately, Mauritius’s closest partner, aside from us, in relation to this treaty is India. You will know that Indian-Chinese relations are complex. We are absolutely clear that there are prov…”

“The reality, though—this goes back to what I said to the Chair at the beginning—is of course that the ability to frustrate the operations of the base, which is the fundamental issue that is at stake here, is absolutely essential. Had we seen interim measures and eventually a binding judgment that started to affect the …”

“They are. I will not go into the operational detail of what is there, but I certainly do not think that we want to enter into any confrontational or challenging implications around there. We are very capable of defending our interests on Diego Garcia. For Committee members who are not familiar with the Chagos archipela…”

“We are content that the general obligations in there—we all have different obligations, on different levels, to international law, as does Mauritius—enable us to continue to operate the base in exactly the way that we do today. As you rightly pointed out, Sir John, Diego Garcia was not used in the operations at the wee…”

“There are always arguments and speculation, but I am very clear. By the way, this of course applies to all our overseas bases: we are a Government committed to international law and all our bases are operated in accordance with it.”

“I am very happy to do that.”

“Happily—and we will happily keep you informed as we go through this process.”

“Those are very good questions, Chair, and we will take them away.”

“I hope that, as we go through the detailed implementation discussions with the Mauritian authorities, we can come back to you with some further detail that will help to reassure you and the Environmental Audit Committee as well.”

“About the practicalities.”

“I certainly do not intend for there to be any lapse. You are asking some very important questions, Chair, and I will certainly take them away and come back to you with further reassurances on them. The wider efforts that we make with a whole range of countries to deal with overfishing and marine conservation are part o…”

“I am taking it on trust that there will be a marine protected area. To have one of those, you have to have various mechanisms and systems in place to ensure that it is upheld. By the way, it is not just patrol vessels; there will be other ways of assessing what is happening. This is a huge area, as you know.”

“Ultimately, outside the 12-nautical-mile zone, that will be for Mauritius. I think patrol vessels are an important part of marine protected areas and the ability to understand, certainly for the part that we are responsible for. I am not going to go into the operational details of what is available at Diego Garcia, but…”

“From the UK?”

“My strong view is that we will have those agreements in place, and the detail of the MPA will be in place by then. I am very happy to come back and talk to you about that further as the details are developed.”

“I would think it would take longer than that. We certainly intend to get this agreement ratified as soon as possible, but obviously it is subject to the procedures in Mauritius as well.”

“We hope that is as soon as possible, but as you know, Chair, these things are subject to parliamentary business timings and the process through the two Houses is impossible to predict exactly.”

“The timing on the treaty as a whole is when it has been ratified by both Parliaments.”

“I helpfully have a little bit more information on the strategic partnership framework, which is the separate agreement. It is structured around five main pillars, where we share objectives and values—this was what was signed by the Foreign Secretary on 22 May—and that includes maritime security and irregular migration,…”

“Which involves money, yes. That is the development partnership.”