UK reviews Chagos Islands deal after Donald Trump criticism
The UK government is reviewing its agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after Donald Trump criticized the deal at the UN.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- The UK is re-evaluating its agreement to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
- Donald Trump blasted the deal as terrible during his address at the UN General Assembly.
- Officials are working with the US to secure the long-term future of the Diego Garcia military base.
The UK government is taking a fresh look at its contentious deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, according to Defence Secretary Wes Streeting. This reassessment comes directly on the heels of US President Donald Trump labeling the agreement as terrible during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
Under the initial framework brokered by the UK, Britain agreed to relinquish sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius while paying an average of £101m ($136m) annually to lease back a joint UK-US military facility situated on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos group prized for its critical Indian Ocean location. However, this arrangement was indefinitely shelved last April after President Trump withdrew his backing.
Streeting emphasized that London must now engage more closely with American allies, President Trump, and his administration to steer the pact toward a framework Washington can endorse. The primary objective moving forward is securing long-term operational certainty for the strategic military base on Diego Garcia.
The ongoing reassessment of the Chagos Islands handover highlights the complex geopolitical balancing act required when military sovereignty intersects with superpower alliances. Because Diego Garcia plays an indispensable role in maintaining regional security in the Indian Ocean, neither London nor Washington can afford any compromise that threatens its operational integrity. Amid domestic political pressure and concerns over potential strategic rivals exploiting the vacuum, the deal remains a diplomatic tightrope.
Furthermore, Streeting noted that successive UK prime ministers since Boris Johnson have shared the assessment that ongoing legal challenges—stemming from Mauritius's claim that it was unlawfully forced to surrender the islands in 1965—pose inherent risks to the base's security. He remarked to broadcasters that he inherited this complex diplomatic situation and a resolution is urgently required.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Prior to his departure for New York, the British Prime Minister held discussions with Mauritian counterpart Navin Ramgoolam. Official readouts from that dialogue confirmed that the UK leader reiterated his commitment to exhausting all possible avenues alongside the US to ratify the agreement. Government insiders have maintained that these recent statements do not mark a fundamental policy U-turn, reiterating that American endorsement has always been a prerequisite.
The two nations originally signed a preliminary pact in May 2025, though final parliamentary legislation to transfer sovereignty was never formally enacted. The 2025 terms stipulated a 99-year leaseback of Diego Garcia, which government projections estimated at a net cost of £3.4 billion. Nevertheless, critics led by political opponents argued that inflation adjustments could inflate the true financial burden to as high as £35 billion while inviting security vulnerabilities regarding Chinese influence.
"The Chagos deal is dead. Thank God."
Nigel Farage, Reform UK leader
In response to the renewed review, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch urged the administration to outright scrap the terrible agreement. Meanwhile, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage welcomed the development, declaring the pact officially finished.
Source: BBC Politics
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