What is the UK’s Chagos Islands deal and why has Trump labelled it ‘great stupidity’?
Donald Trump has described the UK government’s plan to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as an act of “gross stupidity” and a motivation behind its desire to seize Greenland.
In a scathing attack on Britain, the US president said there was “no reason” for the deal to be made, adding that it was “another” national security reason for his country to buy Greenland.
Writing on the Truth Social platform, Mr Trump added: “Denmark and its European Allies MUST DO THE RIGHT THING.”
The president’s move is likely to catch the UK government by surprise, given its previous support for the Chagos agreement. Responding at the time, a spokesman said the agreement was “publicly welcomed by the United States.”
The deal, which was put forward in principle last year, is now in its final stages in parliament after passing the House of Lords last week.
What is the Chagos agreement?
Last year Sir Keir reached an agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while retaining control of the UK-US military base on the island of Diego Garcia.
In return, England was promised a 99-year lease for the base for an average annual fee of £101 million at current prices. The government estimates this will mean a total cost of £3.4bn.
These islands are currently administered by the United Kingdom as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and have been administered in some form since 1814. In 1965, the United Kingdom and the United States formally separated the islands from Mauritius, creating a separate colony, for the purpose of common defence, and soon after forcibly removed the indigenous Chagossians.
Mauritius will be free to arrange for the resettlement of Chagossians to all islands in the archipelago, on terms, with the exception of Diego Garcia.
Mr Trump appeared to indicate his support for the deal last year, telling Sir Keir during a visit to the White House in February that he was “on the same page as your country” and “felt it would work out very well”.
Why has an agreement been reached now?
International law had long questioned the United Kingdom’s sovereignty over the BIOT, a sentiment largely reflected by the Chagossian community.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion on the regulation, finding that the UK had an “obligation” to end its administration of the islands “as quickly as possible”.
This was not a legally binding decision and the Conservative administration in power at the time opposed it.
Less than a year after his election victory, Sir Keir announced that Labor had taken a different approach and reached a deal with Mauritius. He said it was “absolutely vital” for the “safety and security of the British people”.
The government argues that the agreement will guarantee the Diego Garcia base in the long term, avoid the risk of future legal decisions affecting the UK’s ability to use the base, and secure the base and islands against China or other states that may want to establish a presence there.
Following Mr Trump’s comments, a government spokesman said: “The UK will never compromise our national security. We took action after court decisions undermined our position because the base in Diego Garcia was under threat and could prevent it from operating as intended in the future.”
“This agreement secures the operations of the joint US-UK base in Diego Garcia for generations, with robust provisions to keep its unique capabilities intact and our adversaries out.”
“This agreement has been publicly welcomed by the United States, Australia and all other Five Eyes allies, as well as key international partners such as India, Japan and South Korea.”
