Turnaround. The UK will droop its plan to restitution of the Chagos Islands in Mauritius attributable to an absence of “assist” from the American president, Downing Road mentioned this Saturday, specifying that “discussions” with the White Home and Mauritius had been persevering with. “We proceed to imagine that this settlement is one of the simplest ways to guard the long-term way forward for the bottom (Anglo-American navy of Diego Garcia), however we have now all the time mentioned that we’d solely transfer ahead if it had the assist of the USA,” declared a spokesperson for the Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
This invoice would expire in Parliament, making its adoption unlikely. Underneath the phrases of an settlement signed in May 2025the UK should return Chagos to Mauritius however retain a 99-year lease on the primary island, Diego Garcia, to be able to keep a US-British military base on this strategic area.
No “different different” for the navy base
Donald Trump had initially given the inexperienced mild to the deal. However in January, he castigated what he described as London’s “nice stupidity” concerning this settlement, which had develop into a supply of rigidity between the 2 international locations.
“Diego Garcia is an important strategic navy asset for each the UK and the USA. Guaranteeing its long-term operational safety is and can stay our precedence – that’s the very purpose for this settlement,” mentioned a Downing Road spokesperson. On the time of the settlement, Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted that there was “no different different” and that it was “the one strategy to keep the bottom in the long run”.
This base was of appreciable strategic significance to the UK and the USA throughout the Chilly Struggle and performed a significant position within the two wars led by the USA in Irak (1990-1991, 2003-2011) and within the American bombings in Afghanistan in 2001.
