UK reviews Chagos Islands handover to Mauritius following opposition from Donald Trump

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and US President Donald Trump discussed the Chagos Islands during a 40-minute bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Trump reiterated his objections to the treaty negotiated to transfer sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago from the United Kingdom to Mauritius. The US president described the handover plan as terrible and ridiculous, citing the strategic importance of the joint military installation on Diego Garcia. Burnham stated that his administration inherited the agreement from the previous government and agreed that the proposal required revision to satisfy American defense requirements.

It's critical to safeguard the future of the base, and that matters to us for security reasons, but also clearly to the United States as well.

Government freezes payments and begins review

Following the New York discussions, UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting confirmed in a BBC interview that the agreement cannot proceed in its present format. Streeting announced that London will review the terms of the treaty and that planned financial disbursements to Mauritius will not take place at this stage. Under the draft terms, the UK agreed to transfer sovereignty while leasing Diego Garcia for at least 99 years at an average annual cost of £101 million (approximately $134 million), totaling more than £3.4 billion. Parliamentary ratification had already been suspended in April under former Prime Minister Keir Starmer due to pushback from Washington. Streeting noted that finalizing any arrangement also requires the UK and the US to modify their 1966 treaty governing the shared base.

We need to work with our American allies, with President Trump and his administration, to bring the agreement into a form that he can approve.

Strategic base and legal history

The sovereignty dispute traces back to 1965, when the UK detached the Chagos archipelago from Mauritius, three years before Mauritian independence in 1968. The local population was forcibly relocated, with most residents moved to Mauritius, separated from Chagos by more than 2,000 kilometers of open ocean. In 2019, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion stating that the UK must end its administration of the islands as soon as possible, a position endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly. London developed the transfer framework to provide legal certainty for Diego Garcia while satisfying international rulings. Diego Garcia hosts a joint air and naval facility used for Western defense operations across the region. Opponents of the handover have warned that close diplomatic and economic ties between Mauritius and China could create opportunities for Chinese military presence nearby.

Westminster reactions and diplomatic outlook

Trump's public opposition aligned with persistent criticism from opposition figures in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch called on Burnham to abandon the transfer permanently. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage stated that the Chagos agreement was dead, welcoming the suspension. Opponents across Parliament had earlier characterized the treaty as a surrender of British sovereign territory and a threat to regional defense. Burnham indicated that the UK government will seek a revised arrangement with Washington and Port Louis that safeguards base operations while addressing security priorities for all parties.