On the Chagos Islands, Trump Is Right

"During the planning for President Trump's latest strike on Iran, Britain refused to allow the United States to launch air attacks from the U.S.-U.K. base at Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean. Only a few hours' flying time from the Middle East, Diego Garcia offers airfields long enough for the heaviest bombers and has naval docks large enough for aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines."

"Britain's veto seems to have been what prompted Trump's outburst on Truth Social on February 18, which ended with, 'DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!' With this, Trump plunged into a controversy that has polarized British politics but attracted curiously little attention in the United States: the looming handover of Diego Garcia, the site of America's most important military base in the Indian Ocean, to Mauritius, an African country that has become economically dependent on China and India."

"Impelled by postimperial guilt, the United Kingdom has insisted that this deal is an inescapable necessity, given that Mauritius has found support for its claim to Diego Garcia at the International Court of Justice, in The Hague. The treaty is signed but cannot take effect without the backing of the United States, which had at first accepted the British deal as a reasonable solution."

Britain's Diego Garcia military base, jointly developed with the United States since 1966, holds critical strategic importance in the Indian Ocean. During planning for strikes on Iran, Britain initially vetoed U.S. use of the base, later permitting only defensive operations. This restriction prompted Trump to publicly oppose a planned transfer of Diego Garcia to Mauritius, an African nation increasingly dependent on China and India. Britain, motivated by postimperial guilt and an International Court of Justice ruling, supports the handover as necessary. However, concerns about transferring America's most important Indian Ocean military base to a China-aligned nation are substantial, creating significant complications for U.S.-U.K. relations and regional security.

Read at The Atlantic