As Donald Trump is inaugurated for his second term as US President, ripple effects are already being felt across the globe – including in the small but strategically crucial Chagos Islands. Trump’s former national security adviser, Lt Gen HR McMaster, has suggested that the new administration will want to renegotiate the UK’s recent deal to transfer sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius, citing concerns about the security of the joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia.
The Chagos Islands, located in the Indian Ocean, have been a British territory since the 19th century. In the 1960s and 70s, the UK forcibly removed the native Chagossian population to make way for the construction of a US military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands. The base has since become a key strategic asset for the US, serving as a staging ground for military operations in the Middle East and beyond.
UK Agrees to Transfer Sovereignty Amid Legal Pressure
However, in recent years, the UK has faced increasing international pressure to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. In 2019, the UN’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, ruled that the UK’s separation of the islands from Mauritius during decolonization was illegal and that the UK should return the territory to Mauritian control. The UN General Assembly subsequently voted overwhelmingly in favor of the court’s opinion.
Faced with this legal and diplomatic pressure, the UK government under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak negotiated a deal with Mauritius in 2024 to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands. The deal allows the US base on Diego Garcia to continue operating for 50 years, with the option to extend for a further 20 years, but ultimately returns control of the islands to Mauritius.
Trump Administration Signals Desire to Renegotiate
Now, however, it appears that the incoming Trump administration may seek to unravel this carefully negotiated agreement. Speaking to the BBC, McMaster said: “I think surrendering the Chagos Islands, or putting the Chagos Islands in a situation where they can easily be coerced, by the Chinese Communist Party for example, I hope it’s a position that we see reversed here by Donald Trump, and by the UK government.”
“We have to reckon with the fact 70 million Americans voted for him, [his vote share] up in African Americans communities voting for him, up in Latinos, up in young people. We have to reckon with that truth.”
– David Lammy, UK Foreign Secretary
McMaster’s comments suggest that the Trump administration sees the Chagos Islands deal as a potential security risk, particularly in light of growing tensions between the US and China. There are concerns that if Mauritius takes control of the islands, it could be pressured by China to limit US access to Diego Garcia or even allow China to establish its own military presence there.
UK Faces Difficult Balancing Act
For the UK government, the Chagos Islands issue presents a difficult balancing act between maintaining strong ties with the US, its closest ally, and upholding international law and its own legal obligations. Foreign Secretary David Lammy acknowledged the importance of the US relationship, but also defended the sovereignty deal reached with Mauritius:
“The Pentagon, the State Department and the White House under the last administration pored through this deal. There was an interagency process, [they] said it was a good deal. It’s right and proper that the new administration is able to consider it…But having gone through the deal in detail, it’s the right deal to keep the global community safe.”
– David Lammy, UK Foreign Secretary
Lammy emphasized the importance of the Diego Garcia base while expressing hope that the new US administration would ultimately accept the terms of the UK-Mauritius agreement after carefully reviewing it. However, with Trump known for his unilateral and transactional approach to foreign policy, the UK may face an uphill battle in preserving the deal in its current form.
Implications for US-UK Relations and Chagossians’ Future
The fate of the Chagos Islands sovereignty deal could have significant implications not only for the US military presence in the Indian Ocean, but also for the future of the US-UK “special relationship” under a second Trump term. If the US pressures the UK to renegotiate or abandon the deal, it could strain ties and force UK leaders to choose between their obligations to Mauritius and the international community and their desire to maintain close alignment with Washington.
At the same time, any changes to the agreement could also have profound consequences for the Chagossian people, who have been fighting for decades to return to their homeland. While some Chagossians have expressed skepticism about Mauritian rule, many see the sovereignty transfer as a crucial step towards finally achieving justice and the right to return.
As the Trump administration takes shape and begins to put its stamp on US foreign policy, the future of this small but strategically vital archipelago hangs in the balance. The coming months and years could see a high-stakes diplomatic tug-of-war between the US, UK, Mauritius, and the Chagossians, with far-reaching implications for the region and the international order.
- Crucial test for US-UK relations under Trump’s second term
- Chagos deal pits UK obligations to Mauritius and international law against US security concerns
- Mauritius sovereignty seen as key step for exiled Chagossians’ right of return
