The US government has formally endorsed the UK’s plan to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back the strategic Diego Garcia military base, ending weeks of uncertainty sparked by President Donald Trump’s explosive claim that the deal was an “act of great stupidity.”
In a statement issued late Tuesday, the US Department of State said it “supports the decision of the United Kingdom to proceed with its agreement with Mauritius concerning the Chagos archipelago”. The announcement comes ahead of scheduled talks between the US and Mauritius in Port Louis beginning February 23.
The U-Turn
The formal endorsement marks a dramatic reversal from Trump’s position just weeks ago. On January 20, the president posted on Truth Social that the UK giving away Diego Garcia—which hosts a major joint military base—was “an act of GREAT STUPIDITY” and linked it to his push to acquire Greenland from Denmark.
“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired,” Trump wrote at the time.
His comments threw into doubt whether the US would continue supporting the £3.4 billion deal signed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in 2025, which transfers sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius while leasing back Diego Garcia for an initial 99-year period.
The Turning Point
The reversal followed direct talks between Starmer and Trump, including two phone calls between the leaders. On February 5, Trump posted again on Truth Social, saying he had held “very productive discussions with Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the Island of Diego Garcia”.
“I understand that the deal Prime Minister Starmer has made, according to many, the best he could make,” Trump wrote.
But the president attached a significant warning: “However, if the lease deal, sometime in the future, ever falls apart, or anyone threatens or endangers U.S. operations and forces at our base, I retain the right to militarily secure and reinforce the American presence in Diego Garcia”.
The Base Guarantee
The State Department’s statement reiterated that the US seeks “guaranteed continued use of basing and other facilities in the Chagos archipelago to advance U.S. national security, as well as security and stability across the Indian Ocean”.
Warren Stephens, the US ambassador to the UK, acknowledged that while the “ideal” outcome would be for the UK not to transfer sovereignty, the deal was the “best on the table for successive UK governments”.
Diego Garcia, the largest island in the archipelago, hosts a joint UK-US military base that has served as a staging point for operations including in Afghanistan and Yemen. About 4,000 personnel are based there. Under the new arrangement, the UK will lease back the facility for 99 years.
Political Reaction in the UK
The deal has faced fierce opposition from the Conservative Party and Reform UK, who argue it undermines national security due to Mauritius’s ties with China.
Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said Trump’s statement “recognises a critical weakness in the surrender deal” and vowed her party would “continue fighting it to the end”.
A draft law to ratify the agreement is making its way through Parliament, but has been delayed following Trump’s initial outburst.
What Comes Next
From February 23-25, US and Mauritian officials will hold security talks in Port Louis, led by the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, with participation from across the US interagency. The discussions will focus on “bilateral security cooperation” and “effective implementation of security arrangements for the base to ensure its long-term, secure operation”.
The Chagos Islands have been under British control since 1814. Mauritius has long argued it was illegally forced to cede the territory as part of its independence deal in 1968. The International Court of Justice ruled in 2019 that Britain had unlawfully separated the islands and should give up control.
For now, the US has formally signed off on the deal—with a pointed reminder that if anything threatens American access to Diego Garcia, it reserves the right to act.
