Chagos Reversion: Washington Poised to Withdraw Support for Sovereignty Transfer

The United States is concerned about the security of the Diego Garcia base and may reconsider its sovereignty agreement with Mauritius. This American reversal is reigniting diplomatic tensions and raising concerns about the strategic control of the Chagos archipelago.

Reports suggest that the U.S. is preparing to officially notify the British government of a significant shift in its stance regarding the agreement for transferring sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. According to The Express and GB News, the Trump administration is expected to send a letter imminently to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), announcing the withdrawal of American support for this controversial agreement.

Robert Midgley, a representative from Friends of the British Overseas Territories, stated on GB News, a media outlet aligned with British conservatives campaigning against the reversion, that he met with U.S. State Department officials last Friday. He claims: "They will officially write imminently to the FCDO to confirm their new political position on the Chagos Islands, which will follow Donald Trump's stance expressed on Truth Social."

In a message posted on January 20 on his social media platform, Donald Trump sharply criticized the British plan: "Shockingly, our 'brilliant' NATO ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give the island of Diego Garcia, a site of a vital American military base, to Mauritius, and doing so without any reason whatsoever. There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this total act of weakness."

According to The Telegraph, which has also strongly opposed the reversion, the White House fears that the transfer of sovereignty could expose the Anglo-American joint base at Diego Garcia to espionage operations, particularly from China. Influential members of the Trump administration are concerned that transferring control of the waters surrounding the base to Mauritius could lead to increased maritime surveillance.

It is suggested that Beijing has a fleet of ships posing as fishing boats used for intelligence missions in the exclusive economic zones of neighboring countries. In this context, Donald Trump faces growing pressure from his allies to definitively bury the agreement.

The strategic position of Diego Garcia allows for long-range military operations and keeps Iran within striking distance, facilitating missions of strategic bombers, such as last year's attack on Tehran using B-2 Spirits.

In an article published by The Telegraph, Republican Senator John Kennedy (Louisiana) warned against Chinese espionage attempts at the base via balloons and small vessels. He writes: "The UK cannot hand over the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius without effectively handing the keys of Diego Garcia to the Chinese Communist Party." He added: "Efforts to deter Chinese intelligence operations would become nearly impossible with Mauritius in control of the surrounding islands. I have yet to hear any compelling reason why the British people should sever ties with the Chagos."

According to The Telegraph, the senator, who is close to the American President, has advocated blocking the agreement to high-level officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and members of the White House.

Port-Louis Responds

These accusations of closeness between Mauritius and China have resonated indirectly in Port-Louis. Last Friday, during a national banquet organized by the Ministry of Arts and Culture for the Spring Festival, Paul Bérenger clarified the Mauritian position. He stated: "We have special and unique relations with China that must always be strengthened, but we are not obliged to agree with everything China thinks, says, or asks us to do, nor with its political system. It is a friendly, brotherly country, whose sovereignty we respect, but we do not always agree with everything it does."

He continued: "This underscores that some view the small island of Mauritius as a colony, one day of India, the next of China, and when they have time, they say we are very close to Iran as well. This is nonsense. We are nobody's colony, but we attach all necessary importance to our roots and our cultural diversity. We are deeply connected to our five founding nations: France, Madagascar, Mozambique, India, and China. One cannot build the future without knowing the past. A country that does not know its history is a country without a rudder."

On the diplomatic front, mobilization against the agreement has intensified following the visit to Washington by the Chagossian government in exile, whose representatives spent a week attempting to convince U.S. authorities to abandon the plan. In several meetings, they argued that the transfer of the islands to Mauritius would pose "a danger to America's security."

Intense Pressure on Keir Starmer

Last week, the British government postponed the scheduled debate in the House of Lords on the Chagos bill after Donald Trump — who had supported it last year — called it an "act of great stupidity."

According to the terms of the agreement, the UK would also relinquish control over internal waters, territorial sea, archipelagic waters, and the exclusive economic zone. Analysts believe that Mauritius lacks the resources to effectively defend the Chagos marine protected area, as the country only possesses two vessels capable of reaching the archipelago.

Conservative MPs, including Tom Tugendhat and Sir Iain Duncan Smith, have written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer to express their concerns: "Serious concerns have been raised regarding Mauritius's ability to maintain an effective 'no-take zone', especially since Mauritius lacks the necessary surveillance vessels to prevent illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing."

They cite Dr. Bryan Wilson, scientific advisor of the Chagos Conservation Trust, stating that Mauritius only has two offshore vessels and two small aircraft whose range does not allow them to reach the archipelago from the main island.

Their letter adds: "It has also been reported that the People's Republic of China operates a maritime militia, a fleet of vessels disguised as fishing boats, which has operated in the exclusive economic zones of Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia, as well as in the South China Sea. This fleet has also been reported to engage in espionage activities. We fear that China could exploit an insufficiently monitored marine protected area to conduct similar activities near the Diego Garcia military base."

The British Foreign Office, for its part, claims to be confident in the treaty's compatibility with military operations. A government spokesperson states: "The military base at Diego Garcia is crucial for the security of the UK and our key allies, as well as for the protection of British citizens. The treaty concerning Diego Garcia contains robust security provisions that categorically prevent any compromise of the base. The agreement protects the base for future generations."

An American Delegation Expected in Mauritius

In another vein, the Chagossian government in exile promised Washington last week to rename an island in honor of Donald Trump if he blocks the agreement. Misley Mandarin, its First Minister, states: "If President Trump ends this atrocious agreement, we will name one of the Eagle Islands Trump Island."