The effects of US President Donald Trump’s description of the UK’s decision to withdraw from the strategic island of Chagos Archipelago as a monumental blunder are starting to surface. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has put the bill to hand over the island to Mauritius on hold. The Labour government has delayed the issue, opting out of the debate in the upper house.
If the deal is scrapped, Sunak’s move would be his 15th U-turn since taking office. The Chagos Archipelago is located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, approximately 160 kilometers northeast of Mauritius. Mauritius considers the islands to be its own.
Under the Treaty of Paris, the UK assumed control of the islands, including Mauritius, in 1814. In 1965, during the Cold War, a deal between the US and the UK was made, separating the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius. London The UK named the Chagos islands a British Indian Ocean Territory after taking control of the islands, while forcibly relocating most of the island’s population to Mauritius.
Although Mauritius gained independence from the UK in 1968, the UK still has not withdrawn from the Chagos Archipelago. At the same time, in 1971, the US and the UK built a military base in the island’s Diego Garcia, which was later used to launch attacks on Iraq. Mauritius has been trying to reclaim the islands and has asked the International Court of Justice to order the UK to return the islands to Mauritius.
In May 2025, a deal was reached between the UK and Mauritius, allowing the US and the UK to maintain access to the islands, including the Diego Garcia military base, but the rest of the islands would be returned to Mauritius. The UK would pay Mauritius $136 million per year for a 99-year lease to the military base. For several years, both the Labour and Conservative parties in the UK have considered it a moral obligation to hand over the islands to Mauritius.
US President Donald Trump initially welcomed the deal, but has since changed his stance. Trump stated on social media that he is shocked that a major NATO ally like the UK is planning to hand over the island of Diego Garcia, where the US has a military base, to Mauritius without reason. Trump claimed that China and Russia would view this move as a major weakness.
Some Conservative Party leaders have called this move a “genuine act of folly” and have proposed that the UK should instead focus on acquiring Greenland for national security. However, the Labour Party is divided, with some members opposing the deal.
The UK’s decision to hand over the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius has sparked a heated debate, with some calling it a moral obligation and others labeling it a strategic blunder. The consequences of this decision are still unclear, but one thing is certain: the UK’s relationship with the US and its allies will be closely watched in the days and weeks ahead.
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Keywords:
* Chagos Archipelago
* Mauritius
* UK
* US
* Donald Trump
* Rishi Sunak
* Labour Party
* Conservative Party
* NATO
* National Security
