The United Kingdom has begun reviewing its agreement to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after US President Donald Trump strongly criticised the deal and said he did not support it.
The development comes as the Maldives continues to object to the agreement, arguing that its interests concerning the Chagos Archipelago have not been adequately considered.
UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the government had begun revisiting the agreement following Trump’s criticism during his meeting with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Speaking to the BBC, Streeting said the UK had been forced to reconsider the agreement because the United States does not support it in its current form. He said the government would work with Washington and Mauritius to reach an arrangement that could receive support from all sides.
During a meeting with Burnham in New York, Trump described the Chagos agreement as a “terrible” deal and said he did not support it. Burnham subsequently said the UK would work to find a resolution acceptable to the different parties.
Streeting later confirmed that payments to Mauritius under the agreement would not be made “at this stage”. He said the current arrangement could not proceed without US support, citing the strategic importance of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.
The agreement, negotiated under former UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government, would transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius while allowing Britain to retain a 99-year lease over the Diego Garcia military base.
Under the original agreement, Mauritius was to receive payments from the UK in return for the continued operation of the base. The latest reported terms include £165 million per year for the first three years, followed by £120 million annually from the fourth year. The total value of payments over the 99-year period has been reported at around £3.4 billion.
The agreement has faced opposition from Trump, who has questioned the arrangement because of the strategic importance of Diego Garcia and the role of the base in US and UK military operations.
The Maldives has also formally raised its concerns over the proposed transfer of sovereignty.
President Dr Mohamed Muizzu wrote to Prime Minister Andy Burnham on September 8, inviting the British leader to engage in official discussions on matters concerning the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.
In his letter, Muizzu highlighted the historical and cultural links between the Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago and expressed concern over the UK’s decision to proceed with the handover to Mauritius. He called for meaningful dialogue between the Maldives and the UK on the issue.
The Maldivian government has also rejected the previous government’s acceptance of Mauritius’ sovereignty over Chagos, citing its position on the islands and the maritime area between the Maldives and the archipelago.
The Maldives has previously referred to the 2023 judgment of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) concerning the maritime boundary between the Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago. The government has maintained that the historical and legal rights it believes the Maldives has over Chagos must be taken into account.
However, the UK government has rejected the Maldives’ request for involvement in the sovereignty issue. According to a UK Foreign Office spokesperson cited by Reuters, the sovereignty dispute is a bilateral matter between the UK and Mauritius, and negotiations that began in 2022 were conducted between those two countries.
The UK government’s latest decision to revisit the agreement therefore comes amid objections from both Washington and Malé, while Mauritius continues to engage with London over the future of the Chagos Archipelago.
The British government has said it remains committed to discussions with Mauritius, but has also made clear that the future of the Diego Garcia base and US support will be central to any revised agreement.
