The Chagos Islands has been used by the UK and US as an important military base (Picture: AP)
Donald Trump has unleashed on the UK’s plans to handover the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, calling the move an ‘act of great stupidity’.
The US president said the UK was ‘giving away extremely important land’ despite welcoming the deal last year.
The agreement with Mauritius would see the UK give up control of the islands, in the Indian Ocean, while paying to maintain control of the joint US-UK military base on the largest island, Diego Garcia, under a 99-year lease.
The handover has already come under criticism by both Conservative and Reform MPs, who have argued it weakened British interests on a global scale and handed a victory to China.
The islands are located in the middle of the Indian Ocean
Trump has now echoed those concerns in a scathing attack on British government.
He wrote on Truth Social: ‘Shockingly, our “brilliant” NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.
‘There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.
‘These are International Powers who only recognize STRENGTH, which is why the United States of America, under my leadership, is now, after only one year, respected like never before.
‘The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired. Denmark and its European Allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING.’
The UK has admitted the deal would not go ahead without backing from the White House.
The islands have been shrouded in secrecy ever since Chagossians were forced to leave to make way for the base in 1973 (Picture: History/Universal Images Group)
That support then came in February last year, when Trump said in the Oval Office he was ‘included to go along’ with the idea.
A couple months later, he then gave the deal the green light, the prime minister’s spokesman suggested at the time.
Nigel Farage – a long-standing critic of the deal – took to X after Trump’s post to say the president had ‘vetoed the surrender of the Chagos Islands’.
In their first response since Trump’s inflammatory post, the government said they ‘will never compromise on our national security’.
A government spokesperson added: ‘We acted because the base on Diego Garcia was under threat after court decisions undermined our position and would have prevented it operating as intended in future.
‘This deal secures the operations of the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia for generations, with robust provisions for keeping its unique capabilities intact and our adversaries out.
‘It has been publicly welcomed by the US, Australia and all other Five Eyes allies, as well as key international partners including India, Japan and South Korea.’
What are the Chagos Islands and why are they so mysterious?
Diego Garcia is home to navy ships and long-range bomber aircrafts (Picture: History/Universal Images Group)
The Chagos Islands, officially the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), are a group of islands sitting 1,000 miles off the southern tip of India.
They are strategically located in the Indian Ocean and have been strictly out of bounds since 1973 when the UK and US took it over to use as a military base.
The islands have been shrouded in secrecy ever since Chagossians were forced to leave, in what has been considered the most shameful part of modern colonial British history.
This includes the tropical ring island of Diego Garcia, which is home to navy ships and long-range bomber aircrafts, and sits on the list of the world’s most remote pieces of land.
There are no commercial flights and permits for boats are only granted for the outer islands.
Only people with connects to the military facility are granted access, and journalists have always been barred from gaining access.
What is the Chagos Islands deal?
Chagossians and Mauritius have spent decades fighting to reclaim the Islands.
The UK had always pledged to hand back control of the land once it was no longer needed for defense purposes.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion declaring that Britain was in violation of international law.
The UK will pay a regular annual sum of money during the agreement (Picture: History/Universal Images Group)
A maritime law tribunal of the United Nations ruled two years later that Britain has no sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.
Then, in a joint statement in October 2024, the UK Government and Republic of Mauritius, confirmed a deal had been struck.
The statement read: ‘Under the terms of this treaty the United Kingdom will agree that Mauritius is sovereign over the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia.
‘At the same time, both our countries are committed to the need, and will agree in the treaty, to ensure the long-term, secure and effective operation of the existing base on Diego Garcia which plays a vital role in regional and global security.
‘For an initial period of 99 years, the United Kingdom will be authorised to exercise with respect to Diego Garcia the sovereign rights and authorities of Mauritius required to ensure the continued operation of the base well into the next century.’
It added that the UK will pay a regular annual sum of money during the agreement and there will be funding to help benefit Chagossians.
Mauritius would be responsible for any future arrivals under the new agreement.
The agreement has been criticised by Nigel Farage and members of Donald Trump’s administration, including secretary of state Marco Rubio.
Critics fear the handover will jeopardise the security of the joint military base, because of Mauritius’s relationship with China.
However UK officials say links between the two countries are overstated and India is the more influential regional power.
This is a breaking news story and is being updated.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Comment now
Comments
Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google
Add as preferred source
