§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether under the Exchange of Notes between the British Government and the Government of the United States of December 1966 relating to Diego 929WA Garcia these islands are available to the British Government for defence or other purposes without the approval of the United States Government.
§ Baroness YoungThe 1966 Exchange of Notes between the United Kingdom and United States Governments concerning the availability for defence purposes of the British Indian Ocean Territory (Cmnd. 3231) provides that the territory shall remain under United Kingdom sovereignty and shall be available to meet the needs of both governments for defence. Procedures are laid down to ensure that the respective United States and United Kingdom defence activities in the islands are correlated. There is close consultation between representatives of both governments over the use of the islands.
The present use of the island of Diego Garcia is regulated by the Diego Garcia Agreement 1976 (Cmnd. 6413).