Donald Trump claimed the UK’s Chagos Islands deal was “an act of great stupidity”.
Donald Trump lashed out at the Chagos Islands deal struck by the UK (Image: Getty)
A UK-based Chagossian leader who would like to rename one of the islands after US President Donald Trump, said the Republican should “veto” the British government’s decision to cede sovereignty over the remote Indian Ocean archipelago that hosts a joint British-American military base, Newsweek reported. Mr Trump said on Tuesday, in a blistering social media message, that the UK decision to hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius was “an act of great stupidity” for “no reason whatsoever”. The US President also said ceding sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory, which includes the Diego Garcia military base, to Mauritius was a sign of “total weakness” by the UK.
Misley Mandarin, who heads the Chagos Islands’ government in exile, told Newsweek Trump “needs to veto it as soon as possible”. Mandarin was picked by Chagossians who settled in the UK as a “first minister” in late 2025 to campaign for the islands to stay British.
Mandarin said he was “100 percent” certain that Trump would block the deal, and floated renaming one of the archipelago’s islands after the Republican as “a gesture of thank you, a gesture of honor” that could also boost American tourism, the US news outlet reports.
No 10 insisted the US still supported the agreement, which is intended to provide a firm legal basis for the operation of the strategically important Diego Garcia facility. Indeed, Trump said last year he agreed with the deal, but on Tuesday he slammed it on Truth Social. “There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness,” he also said.
Ministers have claimed the deal is necessary because international court rulings in favour of Mauritian claims to sovereignty had threatened the future of the base.
The US still supports the agreement, No10 claimed (Image: Getty)
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said after the US President’s message that Trump had “vetoed the surrender” of the Chagos islands”.
The Government signed a treaty last May to return sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius, following long-running negotiations started under the previous Tory administration after a 2019 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice said the UK should cede control.
As well as establishing a £40 million fund for Chagossians expelled from the islands, the UK has agreed to pay Mauritius at least £120 million annually during the 99-year agreement, with the total cost in nominal terms set to reach around £35 billion.
A view of the Diego Garcia Base. (Image: Getty)
A Government spokesperson said: “The UK will never compromise on our national security. We acted because the base on Diego Garcia was under threat after court decisions undermined our position and would have prevented it operating as intended in future.
“This deal secures the operations of the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia for generations, with robust provisions for keeping its unique capabilities intact and our adversaries out.
“It has been publicly welcomed by the US, Australia and all other Five Eyes allies, as well as key international partners including India, Japan and South Korea.”
