US President Donald Trump has warned that america may take army motion to safe and reinforce its presence at Diego Garcia if any future association threatens entry to the strategically very important joint US-UK army base, following the UK’s treaty with Mauritius over sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago.In a publish on Reality Social on Thursday (native time), Trump stated he had held “very productive discussions” with British prime minister Keir Starmer on the way forward for Diego Garcia, which hosts one of the vital essential US army installations within the Indian Ocean.
“If the lease deal, someday sooner or later, ever falls aside, or anybody threatens or endangers US operations and forces at our Base, I retain the best to Militarily safe and reinforce the American presence in Diego Garcia,” Trump wrote.
Strategic significance to US nationwide safety
Emphasising the bottom’s significance, Trump stated Diego Garcia’s central location within the Indian Ocean made it vital to US nationwide safety and international army operations.“It’s the website of a significant US Army Base, strategically located in the course of the Indian Ocean and, subsequently, of nice significance to the Nationwide Safety of america,” he stated, crediting latest US army successes to the power of American warfighters, trendy tools and the worldwide positioning of US bases, together with Diego Garcia.Trump additionally rejected what he described as makes an attempt to undermine the US presence on the base, saying, “Let it’s recognized that I’ll by no means enable our presence on a Base as essential as this to ever be undermined or threatened by pretend claims or environmental nonsense.”
UK-Mauritius treaty and lease association
Trump’s remarks check with the UK-Mauritius Treaty signed in 2025, underneath which Mauritius workouts full sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, whereas the UK retains rights to function Diego Garcia for an preliminary 99-year lease. The settlement contains long-term monetary funds by the UK, with an choice to increase the lease by an extra 50 years, based on public estimates cited by Reuters.Whereas acknowledging that Prime Minister Starmer had negotiated “the perfect deal he may make” underneath the circumstances, Trump’s feedback underline continued issues in Washington over the long-term implications of the association.
Shift in tone, however issues stay
The warning marks a slight shift from Trump’s earlier criticism of the deal. In January, he described the UK’s choice to switch sovereignty as an act of “nice stupidity” and “whole weak point”, arguing it may invite strategic consideration from rivals reminiscent of China and Russia.Downing Avenue has confirmed that Trump and Starmer mentioned Diego Garcia throughout a latest name. “The leaders acknowledged its strategic significance,” a No 10 spokeswoman stated, including that each governments agreed to proceed working intently to ensure the long run operation of the bottom, Reuters reported.
Why Diego Garcia issues
Washington has described Diego Garcia as an “all however indispensable platform” for army operations throughout the Center East, South Asia and East Africa. The bottom helps long-range bomber missions, logistics, intelligence assortment and army communications, and hosts round 2,500 US army and civilian personnel.It has been utilized in US operations starting from Afghanistan and Iraq to newer deployments, together with the stationing of nuclear-capable B-2 Spirit bombers amid air operations focusing on Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The US has additionally acknowledged that the bottom was beforehand used for secret flights transporting terror suspects.
How will US management of Chagos have an effect on India?
India has quietly inspired the return of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius, aligning with its broader strategic pursuits within the Indian Ocean and its issues over China’s rising footprint within the area.New Delhi’s place is formed not solely by up to date safety issues but additionally by historic expertise. The US choice to ascertain a full-scale army base on Diego Garcia was taken through the Richard Nixon administration, which had backed Pakistan through the 1971 India-Pakistan struggle, revealed in a number of papers declassified later cited by the nationwide safety archives of George Washington College. On the time, Washington dispatched the seventh fleet of its navy, together with the USS Enterprise, into the Bay of Bengal in a transfer broadly seen as an try and stress India.India, backed by the then Soviet Union, proceeded with army operations that led to the creation of Bangladesh, forward of the arrival of the US provider group.Extra lately, India has deepened its engagement with Mauritius. In September final yr, New Delhi introduced a $680 million financial help bundle, comprising grants and contours of credit score, to assist improvement tasks within the island nation. The help additionally contains assist for monitoring the marine protected space across the Chagos Archipelago, based on ANI.The present 99-year lease association between the UK and Mauritius ensures continued US entry to the Diego Garcia base whereas preserving Mauritian sovereignty. Nonetheless, any transfer by the US to imagine direct management over the Chagos Archipelago would strip Mauritius of possession, rendering current agreements – together with India’s $680 million help bundle – mechanically void. Such a improvement may complicate India’s strategic and financial pursuits within the Indian Ocean area.Trump’s stance contrasts with that of the Biden administration, which had welcomed the UK-Mauritius settlement as a diplomatic answer to a long-standing sovereignty dispute whereas preserving army entry.The deal has drawn criticism throughout the UK as effectively, with the Conservative Occasion arguing it weakens Britain’s strategic place and dangers straining safety ties with Washington. Mauritius, in the meantime, has stated its sovereignty over the islands is “unequivocally acknowledged” underneath worldwide regulation and has referred to as for swift implementation of the treaty.
