Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Monday, U.S. Congressman Mike Waltz (FL-6) sent a letter to U.S Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressing concern for ongoing negotiations between the United Kingdom and Mauritius over the return of control of the Chagos Archipelago that could impact the Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia.

“After the abandonment of Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, Diego Garcia remains our most critical basing option to counter the rising threat of the Chinese Communist Party in the Indian Ocean region and ceding control of the Chagos to Mauritius could deliver the CCP an enormous strategic win,” said Waltz. “China has already invested over $1 billion in Mauritus and finalized a free trade agreement with the island nation that could impact our military posture. I hope the Biden Administration will urge our British allies to secure safeguards to prevent any potential threats to our basing capabilities.”

Diego Garcia currently serves as a support facility for military aircraft and ships transiting from the Philippines to the Middle East and gives the U.S. military’s strategic bombers the capability to reach maritime chokepoints, sea lanes, and Chinese bases in the region. The naval support facility also can host nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, as well as serve as a staging area for special operations forces.

You can read the full letter here and below:

Dear Secretaries Blinken and Austin:

I write with concern over ongoing negotiations between the United Kingdom and Mauritius over the return of control of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius. The Chagos are comprised of 58 islands, the largest of which is home to Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, a critical installation hosting units from the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Space Force, as well as the U.K Royal Navy.

Diego Garcia is located in the center of the Indian Ocean, making it a critical geographical asset. It serves as a support facility for military aircraft and ships transiting from the Philippines to the Middle East and gives the U.S. military’s strategic bombers the capability to reach maritime chokepoints, sea lanes, and Chinese bases in the region. The naval support facility also can host nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, as well as serve as a staging area for special operations forces.

Should the U.K. cede control of the Chagos to Mauritius, I have no doubt that China will take advantage of the resulting vacuum. To date, China has invested over $1 billion in Mauritius and finalized a free trade agreement in January 2021. This year, the two countries celebrated the 50-year anniversary of diplomatic ties. In a recent Westminster Hall debate, British MP Daniel Kawczynski stated, “I would argue that the moment we give some of these outer islands to Mauritius, Mauritius will lease one or some of the islands to the Chinese almost instantaneously.”

Although British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly stated that “The U.K. and Mauritius have reiterated that any agreement between our two countries will ensure the continued effective operations of the joint U.K. – U.S. military base on Diego Garcia, which plays a vital role in regional and global security,” it is my understanding that current negotiations do not include safeguards to prevent China from building military facilities on other islands in the Chagos Archipelago.

The U.S. and U.K are ironclad partners in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, and Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia plays a central role in these efforts. As the Ranking Member on the House Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Readiness, I urge you to work with your U.K counterparts to ensure that our countries retain control of Diego Garcia, as well as make certain that China is prohibited from militarizing any of the other islands in the Chagos Archipelago.

We must ensure that we do not repeat the Biden Administration’s shortsighted blunder of ignoring our generals’ recommendations and abandoning Bagram Air Base during the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Bordering China and in the backyard of Russia and Iran, giving up Bagram took away a crucial American asset in the current great power competition. After losing this air base, officials from the Office of the Secretary of Defense assured me that the loss of Bagram could be mitigated by strategic assets operating with similar effect from Diego Garcia. Conceding both of these critical assets would be catastrophic to deterring our adversaries in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific.