The prime minister of Mauritius has called for a closer relationship with China, but insisted he would not allow Beijing to take control of the Chagos Islands.

Senior US officials, including Marco Rubio, Donald Trump’s secretary of state, have expressed concerns that ceding control of the islands to Mauritius under a deal signed by the UK could advance China’s military ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.

But Navin Ramgoolam dismissed these allegations as a “disinformation campaign”, saying he was surprised by the obsession of an American parliamentarian who “claims that if Mauritius regains Chagos, China will establish a presence there”.

“There is a fixation on this issue, which is entirely unfounded,” he added, while addressing the ongoing negotiations surrounding the sovereignty of the archipelago.

The prime minister was speaking during a national banquet marking the Chinese Spring Festival hosted in collaboration with the Federation of Chinese Societies and the United Chinese Associations.

It comes after the UK and Mauritius in October signed a deal, one of Sir Keir Starmer’s first major foreign policy decisions, which would see Britain ceding sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius.

The deal would also secure the long-term lease for the US air base on Diego Garcia.