3 days ago
19
- Mauritius has rejected reports of a possible separate U.S. deal over the Chagos Islands, insisting its sovereignty is “non-negotiable.”
- The response followed claims that the Trump administration was considering ways to secure long-term control of the Diego Garcia military base.
- Britain’s plan to transfer the islands to Mauritius while retaining access to the base has faced growing pressure from Washington.
Mauritius has rejected suggestions that it could enter a separate agreement with the United States over the Chagos Islands, after reports that the Trump administration was considering a plan to buy the archipelago as Washington seeks to secure long-term control of the strategically important Diego Garcia military base.
The dispute has renewed tensions over sovereignty, colonial history and strategic military interests in the Indian Ocean.
The Mauritian government said on Monday that it had not received any official proposal from the U.S. and had not been approached, directly or indirectly, by the Trump administration over Diego Garcia or the wider Chagos Archipelago.
“The Mauritian government has taken note of the information reported by the Telegraph. As at today, it has not received any official proposal and has not been approached, either directly or indirectly, by the US administration regarding a separate agreement concerning Diego Garcia or the Chagos Archipelago.
"Mauritius's position remains unchanged: its sovereignty over the Chagos (Archipelago) is non-negotiable." Reuters quoted the government as in a statement.
The statement followed a Telegraph report that the White House was considering several options to counter Britain’s stalled plan to transfer sovereignty of the Indian Ocean islands to Mauritius while retaining access to Diego Garcia, a joint U.S.-UK military facility.
Diego Garcia is one of America’s most important overseas military bases, positioned between Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Its location makes it central to U.S. military planning across the Indian Ocean, the Gulf and the Indo-Pacific.
The dispute has gained renewed attention since U.S. President Donald Trump criticised the UK-Mauritius deal earlier this year, calling it a “big mistake” and warning Britain against giving up control of Diego Garcia.
The proposed UK-Mauritius agreement would allow Mauritius to take sovereignty over the Chagos Islands while Britain retained the Diego Garcia base under a 99-year lease.
Britain agreed to pay Mauritius an annual average of £101 million, worth about £3.4 billion over the life of the deal in net present value terms.
Britain signed the agreement with Mauritius in May 2025, but the deal still requires political and legal completion before taking effect.
The UK government paused the plan in April after criticism from Trump and concerns in Washington over the future of the military base.
The U.S. had previously welcomed the agreement, but the Trump administration’s reported review suggests Washington is now looking at alternatives that would preserve its strategic position without relying fully on Britain’s handover plan.
Any direct U.S. purchase would face major obstacles. Mauritius has made clear that sovereignty is not open for negotiation, while Britain still controls the territory until the transfer is completed.
Mauritius has long argued that Britain unlawfully separated the Chagos Islands from its territory before granting the country independence in 1968.
Britain forcibly removed about 2,000 Chagossians from the islands in the late 1960s and 1970s to make way for the Diego Garcia base.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice said Britain’s separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius had not been lawfully completed and that the UK should end its administration of the territory.
For Mauritius, the latest report is not just about a military base. It is about whether a former colony can reclaim territory it says was wrongly taken before independence.
For Washington and London, however, the future of Chagos is tied to one of the West’s most valuable military outposts at a time of rising competition in the Indian Ocean.
That has turned the archipelago into a geopolitical flashpoint involving sovereignty, security, colonial history and U.S. military power.
English (US) ·