Africa-Press – Mauritius. Mauritius announced that it has not received any offer from the Trump administration regarding the Chagos Islands, following a report by a local source stating that the White House is considering a plan to purchase the islands from Mauritius.
The Mauritian government stated: “The Mauritian government is aware of the information published by the local source. To date, no official offer has been received, and there has been no communication from the U.S. administration, either directly or indirectly, regarding a separate agreement related to Diego Garcia or the Chagos Archipelago.” The government statement continued, “Mauritius’s position remains unchanged: its sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago is non-negotiable.”
The local source reported on Sunday that the plan was among several options being prepared by the White House, in a document aimed at providing alternatives for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to relinquish sovereignty over the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius.
In April, the British government suspended its agreement to cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, which include the U.S.-British military base at Diego Garcia, a move criticized by U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump stated in February that the agreement was “a grave mistake.”
Britain forced up to 2,000 indigenous Chagossians to relocate in the late 1960s and 1970s to establish a military base on Diego Garcia Atoll, but last year it agreed to grant sovereignty to its former colony Mauritius in exchange for an annual payment of £101 million ($135 million) to secure the facility.
