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On October 7, 2024 (local time), UK residents originally from Chagos protest on College Green in London against the British government's decision to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and their exclusion from the process. / Photo via EPA, Yonhap News

The US administration is reviewing a plan to purchase the Chagos Islands, a strategic Indian Ocean outpost, from the African island nation of Mauritius, the British daily Telegraph reported on the 7th (local time).

It is reported that US officials have drawn up an independent proposal to bypass the UK and secure control over Diego Garcia, an island within the Chagos Archipelago.

According to sources, this plan was drafted by the White House as an alternative to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s policy of transferring sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, and is currently one of several options under consideration.

A US official told Reuters, "US President Donald Trump has consistently maintained the position that the UK must not relinquish the British Indian Ocean Territory, which includes Diego Garcia, where a joint US-UK military facility is located."

The official added, "Diego Garcia holds a strategically vital location in the Indian Ocean and is an indispensable, core military base essential to US national security," explaining that "the US routinely consults with the UK to ensure the island continues to function as a regional security hub."

The UK had signed an agreement in May last year to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands—including Diego Garcia, home to the joint US-UK airbase—to Mauritius, but suspended its implementation in April this year.

President Trump had previously supported the return of the Chagos Islands but reversed his stance after European nations opposed his expressed intention to acquire ownership of Denmark's Greenland. In February, he condemned the handover plan as a "grave mistake."

A UK cabinet spokesperson stated on the 7th, "The current government inherited a situation where UK control over the Diego Garcia military base was under threat, and action was needed to protect British national interests and prevent hostile actors from gaining a foothold in such a strategically vital location."

The spokesperson also emphasized, "Diego Garcia is a crucial strategic military asset for both the UK and the US, having safeguarded our joint security for nearly 60 years," adding that "maintaining long-term operational control and security over Diego Garcia is the core objective of the UK-Mauritius agreement."

Furthermore, they noted, "This agreement stems from an awareness of the tangible, long-term risks facing the base, a reality fully recognized by both the UK and the US."

                                                                                                             Kim Hyun-min