❓WHAT HAPPENED: The British government will delay legislation on transferring the Chagos Islands, which host a strategic British-American military base, to China-allied Mauritius after criticism from President Donald J. Trump.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Trump, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and the Iranian regime.
📍WHEN & WHERE: February 2026, concerning the British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Islands), Mauritius, and Iran.
💬KEY QUOTE: “DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!” – Donald Trump
🎯IMPACT: The British government is reconsidering the transfer, which would have seen Britain cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while paying large sums of money to continue leasing Diego Garcia, which hosts the military base.
The British government has delayed legislation to transfer sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Islands) to China-allied Mauritius after President Donald J. Trump blasted the agreement. Chagos includes Diego Garcia, which hosts a strategic British-American military base, and while the British government has committed to continue leasing the island from Mauritius, Trump believes the loss of full British sovereignty will undermine the base.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s far-left government will now take a “pause for thought” on the bill implementing the transfer. However, Starmer is also reportedly refusing to guarantee that Britain will authorize the use of Diego Garcia for possible U.S. strikes on Iran.
Trump called the bizarre deal, which would see Britain surrender the islands and pay for the privilege of doing so in exchange for nothing, an “act of GREAT STUPIDITY” and “weakness,” urging Starmer to abandon it.
“We will always be ready, willing, and able to fight for the U.K., but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism, and other problems put before them. DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, directly contradicting a U.S. State Department press release claiming the U.S. supported the deal on Tuesday.
The British government’s motivations for paying to give away sovereign territory in the Indian Ocean are unclear. Starmer and his officials have cited an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling in favor of Mauritius. However, the ruling was non-binding, and the court has no power to issue a binding ruling, still less enforce one. Notably, Starmer, his negotiator Attorney General Richard Hermer, and Mauritius negotiator Philippe Sands are all former colleagues or personal friends, with an “anti-imperial” ideological bent. Hermer, in particular, has denounced the British Empire, of which Chagos is a remnant, as “racist” and supported paying reparations to foreign governments.
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