LONDON: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (Jan 20) that Britain’s deal to cede sovereignty of the island of Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands to Mauritius was an “act of total weakness,” adding that it was “another in a very long line of national security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired”.
The island of Diego Garcia houses a strategically important US-UK air base in the Indian Ocean.
Britain and Mauritius last year struck a deal to pass on the sovereignty of the Chagos islands to Mauritius while allowing Britain to retain control of the air base under a long-term lease.
The deal had previously been supported by the US administration which said when it was signed in May that it “welcomed” the agreement and commended efforts to secure the long-term operation of the joint military base.
UK MINISTER SAYS DEAL IS BEST OPTION
Trump wrote on his Truth Social account: “Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital US Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.”
Trump said there was no doubt that “China and Russia have noticed this act” by Britain.
