A COALITION of 80 American and British national security figures, former officials, retired military leaders, policy experts, academics, elected leaders, and members of the House of Lords has issued a forceful public statement strongly supporting President Donald Trump’s assertion that the Government’s proposal to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is ‘great stupidity’.
The statement calls for a permanent stop to the proposed transfer of the islands, which include Diego Garcia, host to a vital American military base.
The signatories warn the plan would jeopardise one of the most important US military installations outside the United States, undermine long-standing defence agreements between Washington and London and expose American operations to legal and strategic risk.
They note the UK Government’s plan would hand sovereignty of Diego Garcia to Mauritius and then pay billions of dollars over 99 years to lease the island back. They warn that a single missed payment could allow the lease to be terminated, potentially leaving the American base operating on Mauritian territory without legal standing.
The statement also highlights that Mauritius is a signatory to the Pelindaba Treaty, which bars nuclear weapons on its soil. Because it is US policy neither to confirm nor deny the presence of such weapons, the authors argue that any transfer of sovereignty could immediately open the door to legal challenges and international pressure campaigns targeting US operations.
The group urges the US to insist that the UK reaffirms the existing bilateral agreement governing the availability of Diego Garcia for defence purposes, and repudiate any arrangements with third parties that could weaken or override it.
Supporters say the growing list of American and British signatories is intended to demonstrate broad and deep transatlantic concern and to underscore the strategic stakes for both countries.
‘The message is that experienced and senior figures on both sides of the Atlantic believe this deal would be a historic mistake, and could seriously imperil future US-UK relations,’ said one organiser involved in circulating the statement.
The statement is expected to be formally delivered to President Trump later this week.
You can read it here.
The press release is here.
