Mauritius says it has submitted changes to a proposed deal over the future of the Chagos Islands, with the country's new PM saying the original agreement did not benefit his country enough.
Under the terms of the original agreement, which was announced in October, the UK would relinquish sovereignty to Mauritius over the archipelago but maintain a 99-year lease over Diego Garcia, home to a major UK-US military airbase.
It was finalised shortly before an election that then-Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth lost in a landslide defeat.
His successor Navin Ramgoolam has since said he had reservations about the deal, which has also attracted criticism from the opposition Conservative party in the UK and officials in the incoming Trump administration.
When the agreement was first made public after years of talks, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Jugnauth called it a "seminal moment in our relationship and a demonstration of our enduring commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes and the rule of law".
Soon after coming into office last month, however, Ramgoolam asked legal experts to review the terms of the deal.
"During the discussions, Mauritius made clear that while it is still willing to conclude an agreement with the United Kingdom, the draft agreement which was shown to us after the general elections is one which, in our view, would not produce the benefits that the nation could expect from such an agreement," Ramgoolam told MPs.
Ramgoolam confirmed that the UK's response to these proposals was received on Monday and is currently under review.
Accompanied by British High Commissioner Charlotte Pierre, she met Ramgoolam on 11 December to further the negotiations.
The only hint at what might be the issue from the Mauritian side are comments made last month by Arvin Boolell, the minister of agro-industry and fisheries.
"In other words," Boolell remarked to a newspaper, "the tenant has become the owner of Diego Garcia for 200 years."
At the time, the British government had already negotiated a secret deal with the US, agreeing to lease it the largest atoll, Diego Garcia, for use as a military base.
Until very recently, the UK insisted that Mauritius itself had no legitimate claim to the islands.