President Donald Trump’s justifiably scathing remarks about Britain’s insane plan to hand control of the Chagos Islands to the Republic of Mauritius seem to have hit their mark: London has now reopened talks on the plan with the White House.
Whew. Cross your fingers Prime Minister Keir Starmer sees the light. If not, Trump will have to do whatever he can to stop the deal.
Those islands, after all, are home to the joint US-UK military base Diego Garcia and are essential to the West’s global defense strategy.
“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired,” thundered Trump on Truth Social.
Situated in the Indian Ocean, the base has played a key role in bombing strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen and humanitarian relief operations in Gaza.
Recent White House national and global-security reassessments prompted Trump to withdraw US support for the UK plans to release the islands.
Meanwhile, China has been making commercial investments in Mauritius and expanding its Belt and Road infrastructure — and dominance — there.
Were it to gain a foothold in the Chagos, it would enable Beijing to disrupt military operations at Diego Garcia.
British Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch one-upped Trump, calling the release of the islands “not just an act of stupidity, but of complete self sabotage.” Absolutely right.
Diego Garcia is becoming even more vital to US Indo-Pacific military operations as China looks to project power beyond the South China Sea.
The base serves as a critical surveillance and rapid-response platform for the Middle East, South Asia and East Africa and as protection from Somali pirates and Houthi terrorists for ships in the Persian Gulf and other key shipping lanes.
The US Space Force also uses the base to monitor over 9,000 objects, including satellites, in orbit and deep space.
Fortunately, Parliament hasn’t ratified the agreement yet, so Trump is right to insist Starmer reconsider his plans before it does.
If not, Trump can unilaterally stop the handover by refusing to update the 1966 US-UK treaty needed to complete the deal. If it comes it, that’s exactly what he’ll need to do.
Let’s face it, conflict with Beijing is becoming increasingly likely, and the only possible hope of deterring it will be an overpowering military that is well-positioned to counter any attacks.
For that to be a reality, Britain and the United States will need to keep control of those islands.