The Chagos Islands and the joint USA/UK military base at Diego Garcia are in a position to command much of the Indian Ocean. There is, at present, a treaty signed between the British government and the island nation of Mauritius to return control of the Chagos that was signed in May of 2025, but part of that treaty was that the UK would retain sovereignty over Diego Garcia for another 99 years, with the option to extend that another 40.
Recently, the British Prime Minister, Kier Starmer, made noises about giving the Chagos and Diego Garcia back to Mauritius right away – that is, until President Trump blasted the hair off Starmer’s head over the idea while both were attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Now PM Starmer is frantically backpedaling.
Keir Starmer has been forced into an embarrassing climbdown after U.S. president Donald Trump tore into Britain’s plan to give away the Chagos Islands, triggering legal alarms and exposing fresh cracks in the UK’s security policy.
The British prime minister quietly pulled legislation that would have handed the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, just days before it was due to be debated in parliament. The retreat followed blunt warnings that the deal could breach a binding UK–U.S. defence treaty—and a withering public attack from the White House.
Trump did not mince his words. Posting on Truth Social, the U.S. president called the proposed handover “an act of great stupidity,” warning that surrendering strategically vital territory weakened Western security at a time of growing global tension. His intervention landed heavily in London, where officials were already struggling to justify the plan.
To be honest, President Trump was right; what the Prime Minister was proposing would have been an act of great stupidity. Furthermore, it’s likely he doesn’t even have the authority to do this.
Under Starmer’s proposal, Britain would give up sovereignty over the Chagos Islands but lease the base back from Mauritius—effectively paying to retain access to territory it currently controls. Critics have dismissed the arrangement as strategically absurd and legally dangerous.
Those legal concerns proved decisive. A UK–U.S. treaty signed in 1966 explicitly states that the Chagos Islands “shall remain under United Kingdom sovereignty.” Opposition lawmakers warned that ratifying the deal without first rewriting that treaty would place Britain in breach of international law and undermine the legal foundations of the U.S. military presence.
We need that base.
Read More: Priceless: Trump Has a Little Fun Teasing Macron in Davos – but Makes Important Point
Trump, Sen. Kennedy Excoriate Bad UK Move on Diego Garcia That Sabotages Our National Security
There are, in many parts of the world, key locations, key installations that, by nature of their location alone, command vast areas of the planet. Alaska is one such. So is Greenland. So is Hawaii. And, so is Diego Garcia. It is far more than just a Cold War holdover. It’s a vital installation that not only provides an untouchable location from which long-range air strikes can be launched against places like Iran, but it is also in a position to intercede in Chinese shipping in the area, should that become necessary in the future – and I wouldn’t bet against that.
Natives of the archipelago, called Chargossians, have filed grievances against the British government over their treatment while the islands have been UK territory. But those claims can and should be resolved without surrendering Diego Garcia. And, if necessary, the United States should be prepared to assume control of the military base if those details can be worked out by a new treaty.
It’s unclear what PM Starmer hoped to accomplish with this dumb idea. Fortunately, as is so often the case, a blast from the American president made him rethink the whole notion.
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