Donald Trump is reportedly weighing a plan to purchase the Chagos Islands from Mauritius, according to the Telegraph. The proposal would sidestep UK officials and secure US control of the Diego Garcia military base, amid stalled UK plans to cede sovereignty of the territory.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Under the reported plan, the islands would first be transferred to Mauritian sovereignty, allowing the US to negotiate directly with Mauritius. Previous legislation to hand over the islands was shelved in April after the US withdrew support.
The proposal, put forward by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, is one of several options being considered, though it is not the leading one. Some Trump officials are concerned about giving the islands to Mauritius, a Chinese ally, due to espionage risks.
A delegation of Chagos refugees visiting the UK expressed support for an agreement but criticised the lack of progress. “The most important is our rights,” said leader Louis Olivier Bancoult. “We have the right to live in our birthplace.”
The Diego Garcia base, located in the central Indian Ocean, has been used in US-Israel strikes against Iran. The UK granted permission for such strikes in March, a move Trump criticised as “very late”. Iran’s foreign minister warned UK PM Keir Starmer that he was “putting British lives at risk”.
A UK government spokesperson said the deal is needed to protect the base from adversaries, adding: “We’ve always been clear we wouldn’t go ahead without US support.”
