The joint U. S. -British military base at Diego Garcia, attacked with Iranian missiles amid the renewed war, is located on the largest atoll of the Chagos Archipelago and holds a strategic position in the center of the Indian Ocean.
Donald Trump has criticized UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's decision to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius "due to claims from previously unknown entities. " The transfer, agreed upon at the behest of the International Court of Justice and approved amid strong questioning in the House of Lords, also includes Diego Garcia, a 30 square kilometer islet that was jointly administered by the U. S.
and the UK, where the Pentagon maintains a strategically valuable airbase. London agreed to pay about $160 million annually as part of a lease agreement, allowing it to retain control of Diego Garcia for 99 years, despite having ceded sovereignty over the Chagos Islands. Washington initially praised the agreement, stating it "ensures the long-term, stable, and effective operation of the U.
S. -UK joint operation at the Diego Garcia military facility. " However, Trump has changed his mind.
He expressed this in mid-January, stating that "our 'brilliant' NATO ally" (referring to Starmer) was justifying his dec…
We will always be prepared, willing, and able to fight for the UK, but they must remain strong against wokeism and other issues that arise," Trump argued in a post on Truth Social. In the same text, the U. S.
president stated that if an agreement is not reached in talks with Iran, he might need to use the Diego Garcia base and the airfield operating in Fairford, Gloucestershire, on British territory, "to eradicate a possible attack from a highly unstable and dangerous regime. " The root of the claim The complaint regarding the Chagos Islands was initially brought by a group of displaced persons who went to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest court of the United Nations. The islanders, many of whom were evicted specifically to build the Diego Garcia base, requested that the UK also include the archipelago among the territories returned to Mauritius when it originally ended colonial rule in the 1960s.
In February 2019, the ICJ issued a non-binding advisory opinion recommending that London end its administration over the Chagos Islands "as soon as possible. " The ICJ's reasoning held that, although Mauritius voluntarily renounced the Chagos Islands when it gained independence in 1968, "this detachment was not based on the free and genuine expression of the will of the people involved. " The recommendation, which received the favorable vote of 13 of the 14 judges of the ICJ, was later approved by a large majority in the United Nations General Assembly, ultimately complied with by the UK in October 2024 and signed between London and Port Louis on May 22, 2025.
Upon approval, the House of Lords also voted in favor of a "motion of regret" to reject the legislative decision. Trump's opposition was shared by members of the British Parliament, such as Conservative Kemi Badenoch, who stated it was a "terrible policy that weakens the security of the UK and hands over our sovereign territory," or Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who celebrated that "thank goodness Trump has vetoed the surrender of the Chagos Islands. " What is at Diego Garcia?
For the United States, the Diego Garcia base holds strategic importance that makes it "practically indispensable," as described by the Pentagon. Of the 2,500 personnel permanently stationed on the atoll, most are American. The value of the base was enhanced precisely due to military setbacks for Washington in Asia during the Vietnam War and the loss of the air station in Peshawar, Pakistan.
It includes a communications station, an airfield, several runways over 3,700 meters long, platforms for heavy bombers, and, among other capabilities, a deep-water dock for ships from both the British and American naval fleets. From there, it has the capacity to deploy security operations in the Middle East, South Asia, and East Africa. Although its purpose is not commercial, during the Islamic Revolution and the hostage crisis in Iran, the strategic value of its location for ensuring oil flow was recognized.
Recently, it was used to launch bombing attacks on Yemen in 2024 and 2025 and to dispatch humanitarian aid directed to Gaza, but it also played a role in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.