Trump Explores U.S. Purchase of Chagos Islands as Alternative to UK-Mauritius Sovereignty Deal
President Trump is weighing a direct American acquisition of the Chagos Islands as an alternative to Britain’s plan to transfer sovereignty to Mauritius. The move follows his withdrawal of support for a 2025 deal that would have preserved U.S. operations at the Diego Garcia military base.
techjuice.pkU.S. purchase of the Chagos Islands to secure long-term American control of the Diego Garcia military base, according to a report published Sunday by the Telegraph.
U.S. Officials familiar with the discussions, the Telegraph said Trump administration officials have explored whether the United States could acquire the archipelago as an alternative to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s plan to transfer sovereignty to Mauritius.
The report comes amid uncertainty over a 2025 agreement negotiated by Starmer that would transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while allowing Britain and the United States to continue operating the joint military base on Diego Garcia through a 99-year lease.
Trump initially appeared open to the arrangement before reversing course earlier this year.
He later warned that the United States retained the right to take steps to secure the base if future agreements threatened American operations there. Britain announced last month that the legislation needed to ratify the sovereignty transfer had been shelved indefinitely after Trump withdrew support for the deal.
The Telegraph reported that Trump officials were wary of a sovereignty transfer to Mauritius because of its close ties to Iran and China.
Diego Garcia is a remote atoll that hosts one of the Pentagon’s most important overseas military facilities. U.S. bomber operations, naval developments, and intelligence missions for decades.
Most recently, it played a central role in operations during the conflict with Iran, with long-range aircraft and logistical assets operating from the island as the United States projected power across the Middle East. The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House for comment.
