LONDON, Feb 19 (Bernama-PA Media/dpa) -- US President Donald Trump has urged UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer not to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a day after the United States said it approved of the deal, reported PA Media/dpa.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US president said Starmer would be making “a big mistake” if he proceeded with plans to hand over the islands – which are home to a joint US-UK military base.
The plans would see the UK lease the base on Diego Garcia from Mauritius at a cost of £35 billion (US$47.3 billion) over the next century.
On Tuesday, the US State Department said it “supports the decision of the United Kingdom to proceed with its agreement with Mauritius concerning the Chagos archipelago.”
But in his post on Wednesday, Trump said leases were “no good,” adding the base could be necessary for a strike on Iran.
He said: “Prime Minister Starmer should not lose control, for any reason, of Diego Garcia, by entering a tenuous, at best, 100 Year Lease.
“This land should not be taken away from the UK and, if it is allowed to be, it will be a blight on our Great Ally.
“We will always be ready, willing, and able to fight for the UK, but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism, and other problems put before them. Do not give away Diego Garcia.”
Trump claimed the prime minister was “losing control of this important Island by claims of entities never known of before.”
The Chagos Islands have been the subject of a decades-long sovereignty dispute after they were not granted independence along with the rest of Mauritius in 1965.
The Chagossian population was subsequently expelled from the archipelago to make way for the base, and have staged a long-running campaign for the right to return.
Trump’s post is the latest change in his position on the Chagos deal.
Earlier in February, he had backed the proposals, saying Starmer’s deal was “the best he could make.”
That statement came a week after Trump had described the deal as “an act of great stupidity” amid the row over his attempts to annex Greenland, despite his administration previously backing the agreement.
Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said the president’s outburst was “an utter humiliation” for the prime minister.
She said: “It’s time Starmer finally saw sense, U-turned and scrapped this appalling deal altogether.”
The government says the future of the base has been threatened by recent international court decisions.
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “The deal to secure the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia is crucial to the security of the UK and our key allies, and to keeping the British people safe.
“The agreement we have reached is the only way to guarantee the long-term future of this vital military base.”
--BERNAMA-PA MEDIA/dpa
