LONDON – In response to criticism from former U.S. President Donald Trump, the British government stood by its recent agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. This decision, which had previously gained support from the U.S. administration, has sparked debate.
Trump expressed his disapproval, labeling the move as a misguided decision, especially given the strategic significance of the American naval and bomber base located there. He even suggested that this action underscores the necessity for the U.S. to acquire Greenland.
On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump criticized the U.K., stating, “Our ‘brilliant’ NATO ally, the United Kingdom, is planning to give away Diego Garcia, a critical U.S. military site, to Mauritius without any valid reason.” He further implied that this decision could be perceived as a vulnerability by adversarial nations such as China and Russia.
“The U.K. relinquishing such strategically significant territory is a colossal mistake,” he continued, citing this as yet another reason for the U.S. to consider acquiring Greenland.
In May, an agreement was reached between the U.K. and Mauritius to transfer control of the Chagos Islands, while ensuring that Diego Garcia, where the U.S. military base is situated, remains under lease for at least 99 years.
At the time of the agreement, the U.S. government expressed approval, highlighting that the arrangement “ensures the continued stable and effective operation of the collaborative U.S.-U.K. military facility at Diego Garcia.”
U.K. Cabinet Minister Darren Jones said Tuesday that the agreement would “secure that military base for the next 100 years.”
But it has met strong opposition from British opposition parties, who that giving up the islands, which have been British territory for two centuries, puts them at risk of interference by China and Russia.
Islanders who were displaced from the islands to make way for the U.S. base say they weren’t consulted and worry the deal will make it harder for them to go home.
Legislation to approve the agreement has been passed by the House of Commons, but faced strong opposition in Parliament’s upper chamber, the House of Lords, which approved it, while also passing a “motion of regret” lamenting the legislation. It’s due back in the Commons on Tuesday for further debate.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch criticized U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party government over the agreement.
Badenoch said in an X post that Trump is right and that Starmer’s “plan to give away the Chagos Islands is a terrible policy that weakens UK security and hands away our sovereign territory. And to top it off, makes us and our NATO allies weaker in the face of our enemies.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, an ally of the president said: “Thank goodness Trump has vetoed the surrender of the Chagos islands.”
The U.S. has described the Diego Garcia base, which is home to about 2,500 mostly American personnel, as “an all but indispensable platform” for security operations in the Middle East, South Asia and East Africa.
The Chagos Islands have been under British control since 1814, when they were ceded by France. Britain split the islands away from Mauritius, a former British colony, in 1965, and evicted as many as 2,000 people from the islands so the U.S. military could build the Diego Garcia base.
An estimated 10,000 displaced Chagossians and their descendants now live primarily in Britain, Mauritius and the Seychelles. Some have fought unsuccessfully in U.K. courts for many years for the right to go home.
The U.K.-Mauritius deal calls for a resettlement fund to be created for displaced islanders to help them move back to the islands — apart from Diego Garcia.
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