UK sees no immediate path to adapting Chagos treaty to Trump's objections

Streeting: annual Mauritius payments paused pending US backing

UK officials said the Chagos Islands deal is on hold for as long as Trump objects to it, with no immediate sign it can be adapted to suit the US president. One insider put the position bluntly: “Until the president changes his mind there will not be any progress. We are where we are. We were waiting for the president to present a view, which he has.”

The assessment follows Trump’s rejection of the three-way plan during his first in-person meeting with Burnham on Tuesday at the UN General Assembly in New York. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Trump praised Burnham but gave no ground on his scepticism about the deal. Trump was unequivocal: “I don’t support it. I think it’s terrible. It was a terrible deal. [Mauritius] all of a sudden say they have ownership. Somebody has ownership that never showed up before, after decades and centuries. I think it’s ridiculous.”

Burnham acknowledged the impasse but pledged to keep working the issue, telling reporters he had “inherited the situation” from his predecessor. He said he had told Trump “that we will work to find that resolution between the different sides” and added: “It was clear that we need to come to that agreement, but I’m confident we can find it working with our US partners.”

The agreement at stake was concluded last year. Under its terms, the UK would transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while retaining control of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia — part of the Indian Ocean archipelago — under a 99-year lease. Mauritius was set to receive £165 million over the first three years and £120 million annually from the fourth year onward.

On Wednesday morning, Streeting confirmed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the payments are now paused. “This deal as it is currently constituted can’t go ahead without American support,” he said. “So we have to get a deal to a place where it commands American support as well as the agreement of the government of Mauritius and our government.”

The US had previously backed the plan, but the Guardian reported that Trump changed his mind amid a wider deterioration of relations with former prime minister Keir Starmer over the UK’s lack of support for US attacks on Iran.

UK officials stressed that, while Burnham inherited the impasse from Starmer, there is no intention to deprioritise a plan begun under Rishi Sunak that the government regards as vital to securing the future of the strategically important base in light of Mauritian claims of sovereignty over the entire archipelago.

“It’s not back to the drawing board, as we do need to find a diplomatic solution to this,” one official said. “Everyone agrees something has to be done, which is why several prime ministers and even more foreign secretaries have tried to get it over the line.”

Streeting struck a similar note on Wednesday, cautioning against abandoning the diplomatic effort. “The ostrich strategy of sticking our heads in the sand … I would caution is not a wise strategy when it concerns one of the most sensitive national security assets we have anywhere in the world,” he said.

The Guardian reported that Trump’s objections appear based on the core element of the deal — the transfer of sovereignty to Mauritius — and that there appears to be no immediate way forward. The UK government has previously made clear that Washington’s approval is a prerequisite for the plan.