‘An Act of Great Stupidity’: The Chagos Deal Must Not Move Forward

President Trump was right to refer to the proposed deal to hand over the Chagos Islands — home to a U.S.-U.K. joint military base on Diego Garcia — to Mauritius as an “act of great stupidity” in January. Then, after talks with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, President Trump signaled his reluctant approval of the deal, simultaneously emphasizing the military base’s strategic importance and Washington’s right to secure Diego Garcia if necessary.

It appears that President Trump is, once again, unequivocally opposed to the deal. Here's what he had to say about it via Truth Social on Wednesday:

🚨 BREAKING: Donald Trump has backtracked on the Chagos Islands deal

"DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!" pic.twitter.com/6mR0pavXND
— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) February 18, 2026

Diego Garcia is critical to U.S. national security and regional stability. It allows Washington to project power in the Pacific, the Middle East, and throughout Africa. Diego Garcia has been used to launch major U.S. military operations in the Middle East and would play a key role in a campaign against Iran. It also acts as a check on China’s westward maritime expansion.

There’s no other way to put it: The Labour-backed Chagos deal is awful and must be scrapped. Implementing it would amount to a major strategic loss for the U.S. and the U.K., with far-reaching consequences for the free world, and a win for Mauritius — a country that has never administered the islands independently — and, more importantly, China.

From Beijing’s infrastructure projects on the island and investment in Mauritius’s tourism sector to the Mauritius-China free trade agreement and thousands of Mauritian officials’ recent trips to Beijing for “specialized courses,” it’s no secret that Mauritius has been strengthening its ties with China. The Chinese Communist Party views Mauritius as key to solidifying its position in the region.

Mauritius Prime Minister Ravin Namgoolam dismissed concerns about Mauritius’s growing relationship with China as “entirely unfounded” and a “disinformation campaign,” claiming that he prioritizes relations with India. Yet he also called for closer engagement with China. His father, former Prime Minister Seewoosagur Namgoolam, established formal diplomatic ties between Mauritius and China.

The draft agreement contains provisions prohibiting the construction of structures within 24 nautical miles of Diego Garcia without U.K. consent and the placement of non-American, non-British, non-Mauritian security forces without U.K. consent on any of the surrounding islands. However, this won’t stop China from establishing itself around Diego Garcia and undermining the joint base’s security, which would diminish its value.

To understand how this might happen, look no further than the Pacific Islands. Throughout Oceania, China is acquiring and building ports and harbors in key areas for what it claims are commercial purposes. But these ports and harbors have dual-use capabilities, meaning they could easily be converted into military bases. There’s nothing to suggest that they aren’t currently being used for covert military operations.

Another example of how China wields commercial projects to secure a foothold in strategic locations is the World War II-era runway in Yap, an island in the Federated States of Micronesia that forms a key link connecting Hawaii and Guam to East Asia. Shandong Hengyue Municipal Engineering Co., a Chinese state-run company, recently redeveloped the airstrip.

China has also made inroads into the region via casinos — run by criminal networks — and hotels, as well as by cultivating close ties with government officials.

Chinese influence in Oceania should serve as a cautionary tale of what could happen to the Chagos Islands under this sellout deal. Seemingly non-military infrastructure projects by Chinese companies to develop the islands, ahead of resettlement, will be weaponized against the joint military base.

China uses fishing vessels — part of its maritime militia — to carry out espionage and harassment operations all over the world, with a growing presence in the Indian Ocean. The proposed treaty would enable such vessels to swarm the waters around Diego Garcia.

It would be especially disastrous if Mauritius were to develop a robust tourism industry on any of the islands around Diego Garcia. That would mean Chinese agents posing as tourists wandering onto Diego Garcia and flying drones over the base.

London would be required to pay billions to the Mauritian government to use the base, and if it missed a payment, either due to negligence or pressure from Beijing, Mauritius would have the right to nullify the agreement. That would mean U.S. forces getting kicked off the island, too.

And whether Mauritius would honor the United Kingdom’s 99-year lease of Diego Garcia in the long run is another question. I'm skeptical. A number of Mauritian officials, including the prime minister and the minister of agro-industry and fisheries, have expressed dissatisfaction with the duration of the lease. The agreement fails to specify mechanisms to hold Mauritius accountable should it renege on the terms.

President Trump's renewed opposition to the deal is welcome news. Now, Washington needs to ramp up diplomatic and economic pressure on the Starmer government to withdraw this proposed treaty that undermines U.S. and U.K. national interests and disregards the voices of the Chagossian people. No deal is better than a bad deal.

Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy RedState’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.

Join RedState VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!