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<p>As my honourable friend is aware, use of the defence facility in Diego Garcia is
governed by the Exchange of Notes between the UK and US, which places treaty obligations
on both parties. These Notes provide that, as regards the use of the facility in normal
circumstances, the US Commanding Officer and the Officer in Charge of the United Kingdom
Service element shall inform each other of intended movements of ships and aircraft.
In other circumstances, they provide that the use of the facility shall be a matter
for the joint decision of the two Governments. Oversight of US activities between
2001 and 2008 was thus exercised: through the exchange both of routine information,
via the Governments’ representatives in Diego Garcia; and, where non-routine matters
were concerned, through regular dialogue between the two Governments, including by
means of annual political-military discussions between senior officials.</p>
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