President-elect Donald J. Trump is exploring options to “veto” the handover of the British Indian Ocean Territory, home to a substantial U.S. base, to Mauritius. Mike Waltz, recently announced as Trump’s National Security Adviser, lobbied the Biden-Harris government to oppose a handover of the Chagos islands that comprise the territory, arguing it could lead to the loss of its Diego Garcia base, much as the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan led to the loss of Bagram Air Base.
“Should the UK cede control of the Chagos to Mauritius, I have no doubt that China will take advantage of the resulting vacuum,” Waltz wrote. “I urge you to work with your UK counterparts to ensure that our countries retain control of Diego Garcia, as well as make certain that China is prohibited from militarising any of the other islands in the Chagos Archipelago.”
Since Waltz wrote the letter, Sir Keir Starmer‘s far-left Labour Party has taken control of the British government and announced Chagos will be ceded to Mauritius—against the wishes of the Chagossians—next year. Starmer has seemingly asked for nothing in exchange and will, in fact, make payments to Mauritius to facilitate the transfer. However, the British will supposedly be authorized to continue exercising sovereign rights over Diego Garcia, guaranteeing the status of its British-American base.
SECURITY THREAT.
Brexit leader Nigel Farage and others have warned China could be authorized to establish a base on another island in the Chagos Archipelago, badly undermining U.S. security even if control over Diego Garcia is retained. Consequently, President-elect Trump’s transition team is seeking legal advice on whether the transfer to Mauritius can be derailed.
“Trump has received a UK-sourced briefing on Chagos and has asked the presidential transition team to work with the Pentagon to get legal advice. He has expressed a stance in principle to object to the deal if elected on the advice of the Department of Defence based on their global security posture,” a transition team source told the British media.
“There is, I can assure you, having been in America last week, knowing also the incoming defense secretary [Pete Hegseth] very well, there is outright hostility to this deal,” Farage said of the transfer on Wednesday. “Whatever is said about a lease agreement, as we saw with Hong Kong, these agreements can very, very easily be broken,” he added.
The Labour government says that the Chagos Islands agreement has been welcomed “by all parts of the US system”.
I think that they are in for an unpleasant surprise. pic.twitter.com/FImMH2m0Lg
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) November 13, 2024
Image by U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Caine Storino.
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