Future of U.S.-U.K. military base in Indian Ocean discussed

The Trump administration is looking to preserve a joint American and British military base on Diego Garcia Island in the Indian Ocean. The island is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, but the nearby island country of Mauritius has sought to control Diego Garcia and the other Chagos Islands. U.S. President Donald Trump’s position has consistently been that the United Kingdom should not give away the territory, which includes the joint U.S.-UK military facility, a White House official told WORLD on Tuesday. The islands’ strategic location makes them an indispensable military installation, and the Trump administration remained in regular discussions with the United Kingdom to preserve Diego Garcia, the official added.

The Telegraph in the U.K. reported Sunday that President Trump was weighing a plan to secure control of the Chagos Islands. The Trump administration has drafted a range of plans to secure control of a joint U.K.-U.S. military base, according to the report. One of these proposed options reportedly included buying the Chagos Islands from Mauritius.

Mauritius has not received any proposal from the Trump administration regarding ‌the Chagos Islands, an official told Reuters on Monday. WORLD reached out to Mauritius for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Why would the Trump administration want control of the Islands? The United Kingdom obtained the Chagos Islands and Mauritius as territories in 1814. After Mauritius became independent in the 1960s, the United Kingdom retained sovereignty over the islands. However, it set up a deal that it would relinquish sovereignty to Mauritius when the British government no longer needed the archipelago for defense. U.S. officials told The Telegraph they were concerned that returning the islands would boost China, an ally of Mauritius.

The joint UK-U.S. military base on the Chagos Islands has played a role in operations across the Middle East, East Africa, and Asia. If the United Kingdom gave up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, it would retain control of the base through a lease agreement, according to The Telegraph. But Trump said in February that the lease plans were a mistake.