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Posted on 06/08/2026 4:22:02 PM PDT by Red Badger
The White House is actively considering a plan to purchase the Chagos Islands, potentially undermining the UK’s agreement to transfer sovereignty of the strategically vital territory to Mauritius, according to reports.
US officials have prepared proposals to bypass Britain and negotiate directly for control of Diego Garcia, the key Indian Ocean atoll that hosts a major joint US-UK military base. The idea forms part of broader options being developed by the Trump administration as alternatives to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s plan to cede the islands to Mauritius, which has close ties to China and Iran.
Strategic Importance Diego Garcia’s location makes it critical for long-range operations. It enables round-the-clock bomber missions, including potential strikes on Iran using B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, and places key areas within striking range. Amid ongoing conflicts involving Iran and China’s expanding naval presence, US and UK officials stress the need to maintain a robust chain of global military bases.
Senior Trump administration officials worry that transferring control to Mauritius could expose the base to espionage or interference. One former adviser to UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Ben Judah, told the Telegraph that the base has “super secret, super sensitive facilities” that are vital to British and allied capabilities, noting they would be difficult to replicate elsewhere.
Background on the UK-Mauritius Deal The UK had agreed to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while securing a long-term lease for the military base, reportedly involving around £35 billion ($46.7 billion) over 99 years. However, the deal requires US consent due to longstanding agreements governing the base, and Britain has since placed it on hold.
President Trump initially appeared open to the arrangement but later strongly opposed it, particularly after the UK reportedly declined to allow strikes on Iran from Diego Garcia in the early stages of the Iran war. He publicly denounced the deal as “great stupidity” and criticized Starmer for weakening the special relationship, calling him “no Winston Churchill.”
US Position and Ongoing Talks A US official told Reuters:
“President Trump has been consistent in his position that the United Kingdom should not give away the British Indian Ocean Territory, which includes our joint U.S.-UK military facility on the Diego Garcia atoll. Diego Garcia’s strategic location in the Indian Ocean makes it a vital and indispensable military installation of significant importance to the national security of the United States.”
The US continues regular discussions with Britain to preserve the base’s viability.
Purchasing the islands outright would likely involve waiting for the UK-Mauritius sovereignty transfer before negotiating with Mauritius. No specific price has been discussed, according to sources.
In February, Trump said that he had retained the right to “militarily secure” the Diego Garcia air base after calling the UK’s decision an “act of total weakness.”
UK Response A UK government spokesperson defended the original agreement, stating it was necessary to protect long-term interests and prevent adversaries from gaining a foothold:
“Diego Garcia is a key strategic military asset for both the UK and the US, which has protected our shared security for nearly 60 years. Maintaining long-term operational control and security of Diego Garcia is the entire basis for the UK-Mauritius agreement.”
In May, UK minister Hamish Falconer stated there was “no scenario” in which Washington could purchase the islands, reaffirming commitment to the deal. Downing Street has not commented on the latest US proposals.
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I would think great vacation spot or an American military base :)
A wise and timely decision. So, let’s get the ball rolling and make it happen, before the media indoctrinate enough RINOs to keep this from happening anytime soon.
Right now, very few Americans are thinking about it.
I only think about it, since, as a member of the Navy, I sailed in that area back in the 1980’s (Diego Garcia).
Maybe nice beaches and room for a golf course ?
Interesting story involving Bob Hope and Diego Garcia from my recent X feed.
https://x.com/Jringo1508/status/2061142418229956840?s=20
“Possibly apocryphal from long ago. Think I read it in Reader’s Digest.
Bob got a letter from a bunch of SeaBees stationed on an out-of-the-way island in the Indian Ocean. They had hardly any amenities and life was hard. Could he do a show?
Mister Hope looked into it and wrote back that, sadly, he’d love to entertain them but according to the military the runway there was too short for the plane he needed to get his stage and equipment to the island. And he’d checked and there was no budget to extend it. So, sadly, he had to decline.
‘All you need is an extended runway?’
The SeaBees then proceeded to extend the runway ‘somehow’ to meet his requirements.
And he did the show.
Fast forward a few years. The Iran Hostage Crisis. The military needed a ready-to-use forward base with a full runway somewhere in the AO. (That wasn’t Bahrain.)
Fortunately, to everyone’s surprise, there was one: Diego Garcia.
Which wasn’t SUPPOSED to have a full runway. It was just an ‘out-of-the-way’ base nobody really paid attention to staffed by some SeaBees.
It’s now the linchpin of everything we do in the Middle East. And it really started to be that because some SeaBees wanted to see Anne Margaret.”
If he buys Chicago I hope he keeps The Bears there.
Cool story and the SeaBees are one of the coolest outfits in the military. When FDR led us to war with the Axis, less than 30% of our military resources were deployed to the Pacific front. The SeaBees were a huge part of the reason why we had turned the tide by December 1942 while it took until August 1944 to do the same in Europe.
Diego Garcia is probably where Jeffery Epstein is hanging out on the beach under an assumed name.
If you like WWII history, go find the WWII item’s buried in Sal Mercagliano’s What’s Going On With Shipping YouTube channel. He gets into some serious logistics.
We could declare it American Territory and await the Mauritius military response. We know the brits are fooked now, and the Argy’s shouuld send some Boy Scouts to occupy the Falklands.
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