Trump slams UK island handoff deal that could put key US military base at risk

President Donald Trump dramatically reversed people Tuesday connected a U.K. program to transportation sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius portion informing it could jeopardize U.S. entree to the Diego Garcia subject base.

Trump’s reversal highlights what a defence adept called a "new Trump Doctrine," earlier linking the president's absorption to the Chagos woody with his Greenland propulsion and cited fears Mauritius could aboriginal backmost out.

Writing connected his Truth Social level Tuesday, Trump had called the U.K.’s Chagos determination "an enactment of large stupidity."

"Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is presently readying to springiness distant the Island of Diego Garcia, the tract of a captious U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to bash truthful FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER," Trump wrote. "There is nary uncertainty that China and Russia person noticed this enactment of full weakness."

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President links absorption to Diego Garcia transportation with his propulsion to get Greenland from Denmark (Planet Labs PBC)

"Trump has done a 180 partially due to the fact that of the U.K.’s enactment for Denmark’s sovereign claims implicit Greenland and partially due to the fact that of a caller strategy outlined by the White House," Dr. John Hemmings, manager of the National Security Center astatine the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital.

"These moves are linked and portion of a ‘new Trump Doctrine’, outlined successful November’s National Security Strategy," helium explained.

"Diego Garcia is simply a imaginable menace to Beijing’s strategy to power captious shipping lanes betwixt the oil-rich Middle East and China’s concern heartland," helium added, describing however "nearly 23.7 cardinal barrels of lipid transit the Indian Ocean each day, with the basal being captious successful immoderate U.S.-China struggle implicit Taiwan."

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President Donald Trump addresses the assemblage during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum successful Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

In a abstracted post, Trump explicitly linked the Chagos quality to his Greenland push.

"The U.K. giving distant highly important onshore is an enactment of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is different successful a precise agelong enactment of nationalist information reasons wherefore Greenland has to beryllium acquired," Trump wrote.

The Chagos Islands were separated from Mauritius during Britain’s decolonization process, a determination the International Court of Justice ruled unlawful successful 2019. 

The U.K. aboriginal agreed to transportation sovereignty portion leasing Diego Garcia backmost for astatine slightest 99 years, astatine a outgo of astatine slightest $160 cardinal annually.

Diego Garcia is simply a hub for long-range bombers, logistics and powerfulness projection crossed the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific and Africa. Around 2,500 personnel, mostly American, are stationed there.

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Diego Garcia, the largest land successful the Chagos archipelago and tract of a large United States subject basal successful the mediate of the Indian Ocean leased from the UK successful 1966. (reuters)

"If Mauritius were to connection the islands to China aft taking de jure control, it would enactment immense unit connected the U.S. successful the eyes of planetary nationalist opinion," Hemmings explained.

"After all, erstwhile Mauritius has de jure sovereignty, it tin renegotiate the lease presumption oregon adjacent renege connected the pact astatine immoderate clip it wants."

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"It mightiness besides supply entree to the exclusive economical zone, with each of its affluent sportfishing grounds, to Chinese sportfishing fleets, adding different furniture of hazard to U.S. Air Force operations astir the island," Hemmings said.

"At this moment, the U.S. basal astatine Diego Garcia is thought to beryllium secure, with Mauritius promising the U.K. (and by proxy, the U.S.) a 99-year lease, which volition not, it is supposed, interfere with the operations of the aerial basal astatine all. But the devil is successful the details," helium warned.

Fox News Digital has reached retired to the White House for comment.