By Ginika Igboke
President Donald Trump said on Feb. 5 that he retains the right to “militarily secure” the Diego Garcia air base in the Chagos Islands if future arrangements threaten U.S. access to the strategically vital installation.
Trump has been openly critical of the United Kingdom’s decision to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, describing the move last month as an “act of total weakness.” Under an agreement signed in October 2025, the Diego Garcia military base would remain under UK control for at least 99 years, preserving continued access for U.S. forces.
In a Feb. 5 post on Truth Social, Trump said he had held “productive discussions” with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the issue.
“I understand that the deal Prime Minister Starmer has made is, according to many, the best he could make,” Trump wrote. “However, if the lease deal, sometime in the future, ever falls apart, or anyone threatens or endangers U.S. operations and forces at our base, I retain the right to militarily secure and reinforce the American presence in Diego Garcia.”
The United States views Diego Garcia as a critical hub for military operations across the Middle East, East Africa, and the Indo-Pacific. Trump emphasized the base’s strategic location and importance to U.S. national security, pointing to its role in supporting recent military operations.
“Let it be known that I will never allow our presence on a base as important as this to ever be undermined or threatened by fake claims or environmental nonsense,” he added, citing the strength of the U.S. military and the strategic value of overseas bases.
A Downing Street spokesperson said on Feb. 5 that Starmer and Trump agreed on the importance of the agreement in securing the joint UK–U.S. base on Diego Garcia, calling it vital to shared security interests. The spokesperson said both countries would continue to work closely on implementing the deal.
Starmer said in January that the issue had been raised repeatedly with the White House and maintained that the Trump administration had already reviewed and supported the agreement at the agency level.
Legislation to implement the Chagos treaty is now in the final stages of scrutiny in the British Parliament, a process known as “ping pong,” in which amendments are exchanged between the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
The agreement includes payments totaling about 3 billion pounds ($4 billion) from the UK to Mauritius over the life of the deal, with an option to extend it for an additional 50 years. The treaty has drawn opposition from several Conservative Party lawmakers.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has accused Starmer of “giving away” UK territory, while other opposition figures have argued the cost of the deal is far higher. Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith said in January that the agreement would leave Britain paying billions “to seize our sovereignty and make us a tenant in our own military base.”
Responding to those criticisms, British Foreign Office Minister Seema Malhotra told lawmakers during a Jan. 28 parliamentary debate that the treaty protects British and allied interests and “guarantees full UK operational control of Diego Garcia for generations to come.” She also said opposition estimates of the deal’s cost were “wildly exaggerated” and that the government’s figures had been independently verified.
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