In a post on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday morning, Trump said: “Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.
“There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.”
He added: “The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired.”
Responding, the prime minister’s official spokesman said that the US supports the deal and “the president explicitly recognised its strength last year”.
He added that it was also backed by the UK’s Five Eyes allies, the other members of which – besides the UK and US – are Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Asked if he could categorically say the Chagos deal would go ahead, even though it is still going through Parliament, the spokesman said: “Yes. Categorically, our position hasn’t changed.”
Earlier, a UK government spokesperson said it had 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”.
They added that the agreement had secured the operations of the joint US-UK military base “for generations, with robust provisions for keeping its unique capabilities intact and our adversaries out”, and noted the deal had been welcomed by allies including the US.
UK Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty later said the government “will of course have discussions with the [Trump] administration in the coming days to remind them of the strength of this deal and how it secures the base”.
Mauritius’ attorney general Gavin Glover has said he still expects the agreement to go ahead.
In a statement he said it was “important to remember” that the deal was “negotiated, concluded and signed exclusively between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Mauritius”.
BBC
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