US President-elect Donald Trump will review the UK’s plan to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, home to a joint US-UK military base, to Mauritius. The UK announced in October it would cede control of the islands but retain the Diego Garcia base under a 99-year lease. While the Biden administration approved the deal, Trump’s team will now consider it.
The agreement has drawn mixed reactions. Critics, including UK Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, called it a “surrender of British territory,” warning it could harm national security and taxpayers. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage suggested the deal might strain US-UK relations, especially with concerns about Mauritius’s ties to China. Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel called the delay a humiliation for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Starmer defended the agreement, highlighting its origin under a previous Tory government and its role in securing Diego Garcia’s operations. Meanwhile, Chagossians remain divided, with some criticizing their exclusion from negotiations. The UN has deemed the UK’s administration of the territory unlawful, adding pressure to resolve the longstanding dispute
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