Donald Trump has strongly hinted at the UK's support of a deal that will hand over the Chagos Islands sovereignty to Mauritius, including the US-based military base of Diego Garcia.
“I think we tend to go with your country,” the US president told reporters during an improvised press conference in an oval office with Kiel Starmer, a visit to Washington. He added: “I feel it works very well.”
The obvious support may be a surprise to British officials who were prepared for the possibility of a pushback to this idea.
The previous day, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Trump had an effective rejection of the plan given the joint use of Diego Garcia.
Conservatives raised objections to the draft plan to hand over control of the island to Mauritius. Diego Garcia Base remains under British control on a 1999 lease, and some governments are worried about the proposal.
Trump was asked about the plan as he sat with Tapered. They're actually talking about about 140 years of very long-term, strong leases, very strong leases. It's a long time. I think we tend to go with your country. ”
He added:
The priorities argued that, given the uncertainty about the future of British rule after the International Court's decision, consultations with Mauritius, which began under the last government, were essential to ensuring the future of military bases.
However, critics have questioned the need, and conservatives argue that the plan will pay billions of pounds to Mauritius under the terms of the lease.
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The UK maintained ownership of the island in 1968 when Mauritius became independent. In the early 1970s, between 1,500 and 2,000 islanders were deported and leased to the US by Diego Garcia for use as air bases. The proposed contract with Mauritius has been criticized for lack of real provisions for them to return.
Speaking to ITV's Peston Show from Washington on Wednesday, Ramie said the deal could be taken away if Trump opposed it.
“If President Trump doesn't like this deal, the deal won't move forward,” Rammy said. “The reason is that we have shared military and intelligence coverage with the United States. Of course, they have to be happy with the deal or they don't.”
