Handing the Chagos Islands to Mauritius would leave a 'pristine marine ecosystem' at the mercy of China, senior Tories warn today.
They lashed out at Sir Keir Starmer's decision to surrender sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) to the island nation 1,300 miles away.
The archipelago includes the Great Chagos Bank, the largest atoll in the world and a major marine wildlife haven.
Since 2010 a 640,000 square-kilometer 'no-take' marine protected area has been in place that prevents all commercial fishing and other activities like mining.
But concerns surrounding China's potential influence on Mauritius have been raised on ecological grounds as well as military.
Tories have raised fears that the deal would allow the Asian giant to access any of the other islands in the archipelago other than Diego Garcia.
Former shadow minister Sir Desmond Swayne told MailOnline: 'The government's job is to deliver on the UK's priorities, not the Civil Service's.
'Why then, as a nation of animal lovers, does Labour feel it necessary to leave pristine marine ecosystems to the mercy of China?
'Consecutive Conservative governments have delivered for the British people, creating 10 marine protected areas around our Overseas Territories to protect our natural world.
'Are Labour so blinded by ideology or lack policy foresight that they feel it necessary to rip up British achievements that deliver for the British people and protect the world around us just to spite the Conservatives?'
According to the Chagos Conservation Trust, the waters round the 55 islands are home to 300 species of coral and 800 species of fish, including tuna and 50 species of sharks.
The islands themselves are also the breeding site of 175,000 pairs of seabirds.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has defended giving up UK control of the Islands on Friday, saying the agreement with Mauritius over the remote archipelago would achieve the 'single most important thing' of securing the long-term future of a joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.
The UK has agreed a 100-year lease for the base as part of the handover.
In their joint statement, the UK and Mauritian governments pledged to work together on 'environmental protection, maritime security, combating illegal fishing, irregular migration and drug and people trafficking within the Chagos Archipelago, with the shared objective of securing and protecting one of the world's most important marine environments'.
A Mauritian Marine Protected Area will also be set up.
But Romford MP Andrew Rosindell suggested that the statement was only playing lip service to maritime protection.
'Thanks to the Conservatives, thousands of square miles of ocean and marine wildlife is protected from exploitation and overfishing by countries like China,' he said.
'But Labour are abandoning all the great work the UK has done and playing fast and loose with our natural world.
'Whether it is for the sake of defending international security or our natural environment, giving up our sovereignty of the Chagos Islands is a worryingly naïve decision - ministers must swallow their pride and end this farce.'
John Flesher, deputy director of the Conservative Environment Network, added: 'The UK has a proud record of protecting the environment, not just at home, but around the world. By using our sovereignty and our scientific expertise, we are ensuring endangered wildlife and precious habitats are protected from exploitation and have the chance to recover.
'But we can only do this if the UK retains its influence around the world. The government's decision to give away control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius undermines the UK's ability to protect endangered species in the Indian Ocean.
'Mauritius has no capacity to monitor the marine protected areas, exposing a significant risk that China and other countries may seek to pillage these pristine ocean habitats.'
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