Donald Trump has called the UK government’s plan to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius an act of “great stupidity” and a reason behind his desire to take over Greenland.
In a scathing attack on Britain, the US president said there was “no reason whatsoever” for the deal to be struck, adding that it is “another” national security reason why Greenland must be acquired by his country.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump added: “Denmark and its European Allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING.”
The president’s move will likely have blindsided the UK government, given his previous support for the Chagos deal. Responding at the time, a spokesperson said the deal has been “publicly welcomed by the US”.
Laid out in principle last year, the deal is currently in its final stages in parliament, having passed through the House of Lords last week.
What is the Chagos deal?
Last year, Sir Keir agreed a deal 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, the UK has been promised a 99-year lease on the base, in return for an average annual fee of £101m in current prices. The government estimates this will mean a total cost of £3.4bn.
These islands are currently governed by the UK as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), and have been in some form since 1814. In 1965, the UK and US officially detached the islands from Mauritius for joint defence purposes, creating a separate colony and forcibly removing native Chagossians soon after.
Mauritius will be free to arrange resettlement of Chagossians on all islands in the archipelago under the terms, except for Diego Garcia.
Mr Trump appeared to indicate his support for the deal last year, telling Sir Keir during his visit to the White House in February that he was “inclined to go with your country” and that he had “a feeling it’s going to work out very well”.
Why has a deal been agreed now?
International law had long called into question the UK’s sovereignty over the BIOT, with the feeling largely mirrored by the Chagossian community.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion on the arrangement, finding that the UK had an “obligation” to bring its administration of the islands to an end “as rapidly as possible”.
This was not a legally binding judgement, and the Conservative administration in power at the time disagreed with it.
Less than a year after his election victory, Sir Keir announced that Labour was taking a different approach and striking a deal with Mauritius. This is “absolutely vital” for the “safety and security of the British people”, he said.
The government argues that the deal will guarantee the Diego Garcia base for the long term, avert the risk of future legal judgments affecting the UK’s ability to use the base, and secure the base and islands against China or other states that may want to set up a presence there.
Following Mr Trump’s comments, a government spokesperson said: “The UK will never compromise on our national security. 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.”
