Webinar | Xi Bono: Will We Lose Diego Garcia? Guess Who Would Benefit

Last month, British Foreign Minister David Lammy announced that the United Kingdom was ceding to Mauritius sovereignty over an island in the Indian Ocean long used by the U.S. military to project power in the region and far beyond. Lammy insisted that this move was necessary to end longstanding international claims arising from Britain’s unraveling colonial presence.

President Joe Biden, whose administration reportedly strongly favored the deal, declared that the arrangement by which Mauritius would give the UK a 99-year lease to the island’s base would assure the United States continued strategically vital access to its airfield, port and storage facilities.

Communist China’s growing trade relations with and influence over Mauritius have, however, prompted concerns about the durability of this lease and the access it would afford the American military. Should it – like the CCP’s own professions about respect for Hong Kong’s status as a freedom-loving democracy for seventy-five years after the British surrender of that former colony – prove to be a mirage and the use of Diego Garcia foreclosed, the knock-on effects could be catastrophic, especially in the Mideast, as U.S. deterrence sharply erodes.

This CPDC webinar examines the provenance and nature of the surrender of Diego Garcia’s vital real estate – and the implications if the deal is not reversed – by President Donald Trump, if not before he returns to the White House.

Moderator:

- Frank Gaffney, Vice Chairman, Committee on the Present Danger: China

Panelists:

- Peter McIlvenna, Assistant to Lord Malcom Pearson of Rannoch, Member of the U.K. House of Lords; Executive Director, Hearts of Oak
• Topic: “Britain’s Hapless Diplomacy: Will We Act in Time to Prevent the Loss of Diego Garcia?”

- Capt. James Fanell, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Former Director of Intelligence and Information Operations, U.S. Pacific Fleet; co-author, “Embracing Communist China: America’s Greatest Strategic Failure”
• Topic: “How U.S. Armed Forces Utilize Diego Garcia and What it will Mean for our Ability to Deter and, if Necessary, Defeat the Chinese Communist Party”

- Dr. David Wurmser, PhD, Director, Mideast Program, Center for Security Policy; former naval intelligence officer with the rank of Lieutenant Commander; former Mideast expert advisor to an Under Secretary of State, National Security Advisor and Vice President of the United States
• Topic: “The Importance of Diego Garcia to our Power Projection in the Middle East and Beyond”

- Col. John Mills, U.S. Army (Ret.), Veteran Special Operator; former senior official responsible for Cybersecurity Policy, Office of the Secretary of Defense; former member, the National Security Council staff and detailed to the Department of Homeland Security; host, “The National Security Show”; author, “The Nation Will Follow” and “War Against the Deep State”
• Topic: “What We Must Do about the U.K.’s Surrender of Diego Garcia and Assure that it Remains a Essential Element of Our Defense Posture”