Chagos deal paused over Trump opposition, minister confirms

The UK’s Chagos Islands agreement has been indefinitely suspended due to the U.S. president’s withdrawal of support, confirmed by Foreign Secretary Stephen Doughty. The deal would have transferred sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius while allowing the UK and US to jointly operate a military base on Diego Garcia, the archipelago’s main island, with annual payments of £101 million ($136 million) to the island nation.

Trump initially backed the treaty but reversed his stance in January, dismissing it as an “act of total weakness.” His shift has stalled progress on the legislation, as Doughty’s response to a Conservative Urgent Question in the House of Commons highlighted the political impasse. The minister criticized Trump’s changing position, noting that the treaty had been “negotiated in close co-ordination with the United States under both this and the previous administrations.”

“In recent weeks, the position of the United States president appears to have changed. And this means that, in practical terms, it has become impossible to agree at political level an update to the 1966 UK-US agreement concerning the Availability for Defence Purposes of the British Indian Ocean Territory, known as the Exchange of Notes,” Doughty stated.

Following the BBC’s report that Sir Keir Starmer had delayed the deal, Doughty emphasized that the treaty’s ratification remains unachieved. The minister noted the current parliamentary session has expired without finalizing the necessary legal provisions. Meanwhile, the prime minister’s spokesperson declined to commit to reintroducing the legislation next session, which begins on May 13, citing uncertainty about the King’s Speech.

Despite the treaty being finalized in May last year, the Chagos Bill—aiming to end UK control over the islands—has not yet secured agreement between the Commons and Lords. Doughty assured MPs that payments tied to the leaseback would not proceed until the deal is ratified. When questioned by Conservative former minister Dame Harriett Baldwin, he confirmed: “They cannot be paid without the treaty being passed, without the relevant legislation being passed.”

Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel pressed Doughty to clarify whether the government would advance new legislation without Trump’s backing. She asked: “Will he rule out any new legislation coming forward next session, even if it isn’t in the King’s Speech, so that the surrender treaty cannot become operable?” Doughty acknowledged the Conservatives had initiated the process but left open the possibility of a revised bill.

UK officials plan to discuss next steps with the U.S. and Mauritius, as the Chagos Bill is not among the five Bills carried over to the next session. Under the original terms, Britain would lease Diego Garcia for 99 years, with a total cost of £3.4 billion. Critics, however, argue inflation-adjusted expenses could reach £35 billion and raise concerns about China’s potential influence on the territory.