UK Authorises US Use of Its Military Bases Citing Protection of Indian and Gulf Diaspora Interests
The United Kingdom's Deputy High Commissioner to India stated that the UK's decision to give the US permission to use its military bases — including RAF Fairford in England and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean — was partly motivated by the need to reduce the humanitarian impact of the escalating West Asia conflict on millions of Indians and other nationals living in the Gulf region.
The UK Foreign Secretary had been in direct contact with Gulf partners — UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait — to express solidarity and coordinate response to Iranian missile strikes that had targeted the region.
The UK government framed its decision as "specific and limited defensive operations," including degrading Iranian missile sites and capabilities being used to attack shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, thereby protecting a critical maritime corridor through which Indian trade and Indian workers flow.
Diego Garcia and the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT): Strategic Significance
Diego Garcia is a coral atoll in the Chagos Archipelago, located in the central Indian Ocean approximately 1,600 km south of the southern tip of India. It hosts a joint US-UK military base — Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia — which serves as a critical platform for US military operations across the Indo-Pacific and Middle East. The island has been administered by the UK as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) since 1965, when it was separated from Mauritius (then a British colony) ahead of Mauritius's independence. This separation has been a long-standing sovereignty dispute.
The UK's decision to allow US use of its bases for "defensive operations" was directly linked to the escalation of the conflict, including Iran's strike on Diego Garcia. The UK framed the action as protecting regional stability, including the safety of the Indian diaspora in Gulf countries.
Indian Diaspora in the Gulf: Scale, Vulnerability, and Strategic Importance
Approximately 9 million Indians live and work in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries — making the Gulf region India's single largest diaspora concentration. This diaspora is predominantly composed of labour migrants working in construction, healthcare, retail, hospitality, and services. They contribute approximately 40% of India's total remittance inflows, estimated at over $30 billion annually from the Gulf. The safety and welfare of the Indian diaspora in conflict zones is a direct driver of Indian foreign policy, as evidenced by Operation Raahat (Yemen, 2015) and Vande Bharat Mission (COVID-19, 2020).
The UK Deputy High Commissioner's explicit reference to "millions of Indians in the Gulf" as a reason for UK military action underscores how the large Indian diaspora has become a strategic factor in multilateral security deliberations — a shift from treating diaspora welfare as purely a consular matter to a geopolitical consideration.
The Strait of Hormuz: Critical Chokepoint for Indian Trade
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the broader Arabian Sea. It is one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints: approximately 20% of global oil trade and 20-30% of global LNG trade passes through it. India is highly vulnerable to any disruption of the Strait — around 60% of India's crude oil imports originate from Gulf countries, much of which transits through or adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz.
UK-authorised US defensive operations to degrade Iranian missile capabilities targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz directly protects India's energy security — India depends on the Strait remaining open for the bulk of its crude oil imports and for the safe passage of ships servicing Indian workers in the Gulf.
- UK bases authorised for US use: RAF Fairford (England) and Diego Garcia (Indian Ocean).
- Gulf states in UK diplomatic contact: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait.
- Indian diaspora in Gulf: ~9 million, with UAE (~4.3 million) the largest concentration.
- Gulf remittances: ~$30+ billion annually, ~40% of India's total remittance receipts.
- Iran fired two ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia on March 21-22, 2026; both were neutralised.
- Diego Garcia is ~2,350 miles from Iran; the strike demonstrated Iran's intermediate-range ballistic missile capability.
- UK-Mauritius sovereignty deal (May 2025): Chagos to Mauritius; Diego Garcia base retained under 99-year leaseback.
- Strait of Hormuz: ~20% of global oil trade; ~60% of India's crude oil imports from Gulf region.
- Previous Indian evacuation operations: Operation Raahat (Yemen, 2015, ~6,000 Indians evacuated), Vande Bharat Mission (COVID, 2020).