This request was sent to the White House by the Prime Minister of the Chagos government-in-exile, established in December last year, Misley Mandarin. His letter – published on the X platform by the British website ConservativePost – should be received by President Trump over the weekend, just before Monday's vote in the British Parliament on the treaty that will hand over the islands to Mauritius.
In the letter, Mandarin warned the US that the deal in its current form would threaten the strategically important Anglo-US military base on Diego Garcia Island because Mauritius is too dependent on China's influence. In turn, blocking the treaty – in his opinion – will “close the door to Chinese interference.”
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Who sent the request to Donald Trump?
Which islands are to be handed over to Mauritius?
What concerns did Misley Mandarin express in his letter?
How long is Diego Garcia to be leased by the UK?
Residents are not unanimous
The grateful inhabitants of Chagos, as the Mandarin assured the American leader, are ready to name one of the islands in the archipelago after President Trump to “celebrate the moment when America will show strength, justice and long-term security, and not just (find) an ad hoc solution.”
However, the people of Chagos are not unanimous about the future of their archipelago, which since 1965 is still formally part of the British Indian Ocean Territory. The islands were to be handed over to Mauritius on May 22, 2025, but a day earlier the process was suspended by a London court after a request submitted by several residents of the archipelago who were opposed to leaving the island of Diego Garcia to Great Britain and the United States.
Ultimately, the treaty, which will be put to a vote on Monday, provides for the transfer of the archipelago to Mauritius, excluding the island of Diego Garcia. It is to be leased by Great Britain for 99 years for an amount of over 30 billion pounds – the Mauritian daily “L'express” recently revealed.
It is the largest and most important island, as it houses a British-American base, allowing both countries to control a significant part of the Indo-Pacific region. Diego Garcia has played a key role in several recent US operations, including last year's joint missions with Israel to stop Iran's nuclear program.
