WASHINGTON: The White House is considering purchasing the Chagos Islands from Mauritius, the Telegraph reported on Sunday. According to the article, US officials have proposed bypassing the UK and negotiating their own accord to seize control of Diego Garcia.
The White House is drafting alternatives to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s proposal to cede sovereignty over the Indian Ocean territory to Mauritius, according to a report. President Trump has been consistent in his position that the United Kingdom should not give away the British Indian Ocean Territory, which includes our joint US-UK military facility on the Diego Garcia atoll,” a US official said to Reuters.
Diego Garcia’s strategic location in the Indian Ocean makes it a vital and indispensable military installation of significant importance to the national security of the United States,” the official said. The US is in regular talks with Britain to preserve the island’s viability as a regional security platform. In April, the British government postponed a plan to surrender sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, home to the US-British Diego Garcia air base, following criticism from US President Donald Trump.
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