Trump slams UK deal handy over Chagos Islands after he beforehand backed it

[ad_1] LONDON (AP) — A startled British authorities on Tuesday defended its resolution handy sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after U.S. President Donald Trump attacked the plan, which his administration had beforehand supported.

Trump mentioned that relinquishing the distant Indian Ocean archipelago, dwelling to a strategically vital American naval and bomber base, was an act of stupidity that reveals why he must take over Greenland .

“Shockingly, our ‘sensible’ NATO Ally, the UK, is presently planning to provide away the Island of Diego Garcia, the location of an important U.S. Navy Base, to Mauritius, and to take action FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER,” he mentioned in a publish on his social media platform Reality Social. “There is no such thing as a doubt that China and Russia have seen this act of complete weak spot.”

“The UK giving freely extraordinarily vital land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is one other in a really lengthy line of Nationwide Safety the reason why Greenland needs to be acquired,” Trump mentioned.

The blast from Trump was a rebuff to efforts by Prime Minister Keir Starmer to calm tensions over Greenland and patch up a frayed trans-Atlantic relationship. Starmer on Monday known as Trump’s statements about taking up Greenland “utterly incorrect,” however known as for the rift to be “resolved by calm dialogue.”

The British authorities mentioned Tuesday that regardless of the president’s publish, it believes the U.S. nonetheless helps the Chagos deal.

Cupboard Minister Pat McFadden mentioned {that a} flurry of social media posts from Trump “criticizing plenty of world leaders” confirmed the president “is pissed off proper now” as European allies push again on his want for Greenland.

“I don’t actually consider that is about Chagos. I believe it’s about Greenland,” McFadden mentioned.

Distant however strategic The UK and Mauritius signed a deal in May to provide Mauritius sovereignty over the Chagos Islands after two centuries beneath British management, although the U.Okay. can pay Mauritius at the least 120 million kilos ($160 million) a 12 months to lease again the island of Diego Garcia, the place the U.S. base is positioned, for at the least 99 years.

The U.S. authorities welcomed the settlement on the time, saying it “secures the long-term, steady, and efficient operation of the joint U.S.-U.Okay. army facility at Diego Garcia.”

In recent times, the United Nations and its high court docket have urged Britain to return the islands to Mauritius , and the British authorities says it’s performing to guard the safety of the bottom from worldwide authorized problem.

A authorities spokesperson mentioned that “the U.Okay. won't ever compromise on our nationwide safety,” and “this deal secures the operations of the joint U.S.-U.Okay. base on Diego Garcia for generations, with sturdy provisions for conserving its distinctive capabilities intact and our adversaries out.”

However the deal has met sturdy opposition from British opposition events, which say that giving up the islands places them susceptible to interference by China and Russia.

Islanders who had been displaced from the islands to make method for the U.S. base say they weren’t consulted and fear the deal will make it tougher for them to go dwelling.

Robust opposition Laws to approve the settlement has been handed by the Home of Commons, however confronted sturdy opposition in Parliament’s higher chamber, the Home of Lords, which accredited it, whereas additionally passing a “movement of remorse” lamenting the laws. It’s due again within the Commons on Tuesday for additional debate.

Conservative Social gathering chief Kemi Badenoch criticized Starmer’s Labour Social gathering authorities over the settlement.

Badenoch mentioned in an X publish that Trump is true and that Starmer’s “plan to provide away the Chagos Islands is a horrible coverage that weakens UK safety and fingers away our sovereign territory. And to high it off, makes us and our NATO allies weaker within the face of our enemies.”

Reform UK chief Nigel Farage, an ally of the president mentioned: “Thank goodness Trump has vetoed the give up of the Chagos islands.”

The U.S. has described the Diego Garcia base, which is dwelling to about 2,500 principally American personnel, as “an all however indispensable platform” for safety operations within the Center East, South Asia and East Africa.

The Chagos Islands have been beneath British management since 1814, after they had been ceded by France. Britain break up the islands away from Mauritius, a former British colony, in 1965, and evicted as many as 2,000 people from the islands so the U.S. army may construct the Diego Garcia base.

An estimated 10,000 displaced Chagossians and their descendants now dwell primarily in Britain, Mauritius and the Seychelles. Some have fought unsuccessfully in U.Okay. courts for a few years for the fitting to go dwelling.

The U.Okay.-Mauritius deal requires a resettlement fund to be created for displaced islanders to assist them transfer again to the islands — aside from Diego Garcia.

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