Donald Trump has unleashed an astonishing broadside at Keir Starmer‘s Labour government over what he called “an act of total weakness” – namely letting go of the Chagos Islands. Posted in his usual madcap style, the US President wrote: “Shockingly, our “brilliant” NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital US Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.
“There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness. These are International Powers who only recognize STRENGTH, which is why the United States of America, under my leadership, is now, after only one year, respected like never before. 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.
“Denmark and its European Allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING. Thank you for your attention to this matter. PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP.”
The Chagos Islands agreement, finalised between the UK and Mauritius in May 2025, hands sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory—including the entire Chagos Archipelago—to Mauritius after more than half a century of contention.
In return, Britain secures a 99-year lease (extendable) on Diego Garcia, home to the strategically vital joint UK-US military base.
The facility supports long-range bombers, nuclear submarines, and extensive surveillance operations, playing a pivotal role in projecting power across the Indian Ocean, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific, particularly in countering Chinese naval expansion.
Negotiated under Keir Starmer’s Labour government, the deal seeks to end protracted legal battles, including the 2019 International Court of Justice advisory opinion in Mauritius’s favour and repeated UN General Assembly resolutions calling for decolonisation.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wasted little time endorsing Mr Trump’s perspective, doing so far as to suggest the US President was in effect entitled to shape the policy of the UK Government.
Posting on Twitter, he said: “Thank goodness Trump has vetoed the surrender of the Chagos islands.”
The UK has committed to annual payments of approximately £101 million to Mauritius—amounting to billions over the lease term—prompting sharp criticism over the burden on British taxpayers.
The arrangement has also drawn fierce opposition from exiled Chagossians, forcibly removed from their homes in the 1960s and 1970s, who were not consulted on the transfer, as well as from Conservative peers and defence analysts who warn that Mauritius’s growing ties with China could compromise long-term security.
Although the Trump administration initially appeared to acquiesce in 2025, the treaty remains unratified amid resistance in Parliament and mounting transatlantic unease.
President Trump’s outspoken intervention underscores concerns that relinquishing sovereignty amounts to a display of Western frailty, potentially emboldening China, Russia, or other rivals in this geopolitically sensitive theatre.
He is also using it to push his agenda on Greenland, which he has not ruled out taking by force.
