Trump urged Britain not to give up Diego Garcia base. He says it might be needed for strikes on Iran

Photo: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

"Don't give up Diego Garcia!" U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on his social media, addressing the UK. According to him, the British-American base on this atoll in the Indian Ocean might be needed for strikes on Iran, writes the BBC.

True, Britain is not giving it up yet: according to an agreement signed with Mauritius last May, the United Kingdom transfers sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, which includes the Diego Garcia atoll, to Mauritius, but leases the base for the next 99 years.

Moreover, the agreement has not yet been ratified by the British Parliament: the consideration of relevant bills has stalled due to opposition from the House of Commons and some members of the House of Lords.

At the same time, just a day before Trump's social media statement, the U.S. State Department announced its support for the UK's transfer of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius.

Last spring, when British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Washington, Trump himself spoke in favor of this agreement, and subsequently changed his opinion on the Chagos agreement to the opposite several times in public statements. Most recently, at the beginning of February, he stated that this was the best option for Britain.

Now, however, Trump believes that the lease agreement is too unreliable a document.

"I told Prime Minister Keir Starmer that a lease is a bad thing when it comes to countries, and that he is making a big mistake by entering into a 100-year lease agreement with someone who claims rights, possession, and interest in Diego Garcia, strategically located in the Indian Ocean," Donald Trump wrote, adding that Mauritius's claims to the island are, in his opinion, fictitious.

Further in his tweet, Trump moved to the topic of Iran.

"If Iran decides not to make a deal, Diego Garcia could prove to be necessary for the United States to eliminate a potential attack from a very unstable and dangerous regime," the American president stated.

"Prime Minister Starmer must under no circumstances give up control of Diego Garcia by entering into at best a dubious 100-year lease agreement [...] We are always ready, willing, and able to fight for Britain, but she must firmly resist wokism and other problems facing her. Don't give up Diego Garcia!" Trump urged.

What is Chagos and why is it important

The Chagos Archipelago, officially called the British Indian Ocean Territory, is located in the center of this ocean.

Павялічыць

BBC

Both American and British military aircraft stationed at the Diego Garcia base participate, for example, in operations in the Middle East.

Negotiations on the transfer of the islands to Mauritius — which is located two thousand kilometers from Chagos in the ocean — began in 2019, after Britain lost a dispute over the archipelago's ownership in the UN International Court of Justice. But the plan to actually transfer it was announced by the new British Labour government only last October.

Critics of this plan, both in Britain and the U.S., say that the transfer of the archipelago would pose a serious threat to the Diego Garcia base and the national security of both countries, as Mauritius has recently forged warm relations with China, Iran, and Russia. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in particular, spoke about this.

Chagos is a chain of islands stretching for 200 km, and from Diego Garcia to the next closest island in the archipelago is 120 km.

The British government announced that leasing the base territory from Mauritius for 99 years would cost 101 million pounds sterling per year.

The Conservative Party sharply criticizes the Labour government for its intention to transfer Chagos to Mauritius — although negotiations on the transfer began under a Tory government.

Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party, which has recently gained popularity, also criticizes Labour.

Labour argues that reaching an agreement with Mauritius is the best way to ensure the continued existence of the Diego Garcia base.

Two centuries under British rule

Britain has owned the Chagos Archipelago since 1814, when it took it from France. In the late 1960s and 1970s, the UK forcibly evicted 1,000 islanders, descendants of freed African slaves, to allow for the construction of the American base.

The Chagos Archipelago was administratively separated from Mauritius in 1965, when Mauritius was still a British colony. Britain bought it for £3 million and declared it its overseas territory in the Indian Ocean.

Mauritius accused Britain of illegal colonial occupation of the archipelago, claiming it was unlawfully coerced into relinquishing its rights to the Chagos Islands in 1968 in exchange for independence.

Between 1968 and 1974, British authorities evicted more than a thousand Chagos islanders from the islands and resettled them in Mauritius and the Seychelles.

London has repeatedly apologized for the expulsion of the islanders and promised to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius when they were no longer needed for strategic purposes. However, until recently, the UK insisted that Mauritius had no right to demand the transfer of the archipelago.

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