India’s navy base plan off

– The Seychelles parliament will not ratify a pact allowing India to build naval facilities on one of the archipelago’s islands, a top foreign affairs ministry official said yesterday.

The two countries signed an agreement in January to build military facilities on the remote island of Assumption, but the project was criticised by opposition members of the tiny Indian Ocean nation’s parliament and lead to public protests.

Opposition lawmakers argued that allowing India access to Assumption, which is near a busy shipping route, would be surrendering territory to another country and joint management of the facility with India undermined the nation’s sovereignty.

“The government will not present the agreement to the National Assembly (parliament) for approval because opposition members (who are the majority) have already said they will not ratify it,” Seychelles Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Barry Faure said by phone.

“Hence the question of whether the agreement has been cancelled or not does arise. We will simply not take it to the assembly,” he said, noting that the Indian side had already ratified the pact.

President Danny Faure had earlier told local media the issue of a military base on Assumption island would not be discussed with Modi and that “the project will not move forward”. He added: “In next year’s budget, we will put aside funds to build a coastguard facility on Assumption ourselves. It is important for us to ensure that we have a military post in this area.”

The scrapped pact entailed building an airstrip and a jetty as India steps up a contest with China for influence in the Indian Ocean. –