§ 11. Mr. Juddasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposal he has made to the Government of Mauritius for extended naval facilities on the island.
§ Mr. JuddDoes my hon. Friend agree that, in view of the diplomatic and political difficulties surrounding the use of the Simonstown naval base, if naval facilities in the Indian Ocean area are still essential, it would be worth investigating the use of Mauritius as an alternative?
§ Mr. FoleyThe base at Mauritius is of great value to us and to the Mauritian economy. The question posed by my hon. Friend is purely hypothetical, since our use of facilities in South Africa and the provisions made in the Simonstown Agreement in 1955 are only to be terminated by mutual consent.