Trump cites Britain’s decision on Chagos as reason to seek Greenland

President Trump on Tuesday cited Britain’s decision to relinquish control over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as one reason the United States should acquire Greenland, writing on social media that the move to give away Diego Garcia was an “act of GREAT STUPIDITY.” Britain agreed in 2024 to hand the remote Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius after years of legal and diplomatic pressure.

Since the colonial era Britain had controlled the Chagos, and in the 1960s it began expelling inhabitants from the islands to build a U.S.-British military base on Diego Garcia. Mauritius has claimed sovereignty over the islands since gaining independence in 1968, and the International Court of Justice ruled that Britain had acted unlawfully by detaching the archipelago in 1965.

Last May Britain and Mauritius signed an agreement on the handover that must be ratified by both countries. Under its terms the United States and Britain would continue to operate the base on Diego Garcia for an initial period of 99 years. The base serves U.S. Navy ships, refuels long-range bombers, functions as a listening post for surveillance and intelligence gathering, and is home to about 4,000 U.S.

and British military and civilian contract personnel; the United States has long viewed a base in the Indian Ocean as strategic amid great-power rivalry. U.S. officials had privately encouraged Britain to resolve the dispute, and at the time Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised the deal, saying Mr.

Key Topics

World, Donald Trump, Chagos Islands, Diego Garcia, Mauritius, Greenland