Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he had a “very productive” conversation with Starmer about the island, which is part of the Chagos Islands. In 2025, Great Britain agreed to return it to Mauritius, while also signing a 99-year lease for the Diego Garcia military base.
What steps does Trump announce in the Diego Garcia case?
What does Trump think about Starmer's deal?
What is the importance of the military base on Diego Garcia?
What does the British Prime Minister's office say about the conversation with Trump?
“I understand that the deal Prime Minister Starmer struck was, in the opinion of many, the best he could have made. However, if the lease agreement, at some point in the future, falls apart or anyone threatens or jeopardizes U.S. operations and forces at our base, I reserve the right to militarily secure and enhance the U.S. presence on Diego Garcia,” Trump wrote.
“Let it be known that I will never allow our presence at such an important Base to be undermined or threatened by false claims or environmental nonsense,” he added.
The British Prime Minister's office also commented on the matter. “(Starmer and Trump) also agreed on the importance of an agreement to secure the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia Island, which remains key to their shared security interests. They agreed that the UK and the US will continue to work closely together to implement the agreement,” Downing Street said in a statement.
Trump speaks out about an island in the Pacific. The British handed it over to Mauritius
In May 2025, the Starmer government finalized the agreement negotiated by the previous government in London to transfer Chagos to Mauritius, because – as the British Prime Minister claimed – Great Britain would have no real chance of winning the case before an international tribunal. Already in 2019, the International Court of Justice, in a non-binding ruling, decided that the UK was obliged to return the islands to Mauritius.
Trump originally supported the agreement concluded by Starmer, but in the face of efforts to acquire Danish Greenland, he later called it an “act of great stupidity.” He also used this case as an argument that the United States must have sovereignty over Greenland, because no other form would guarantee a permanent US military presence on the world's largest island.
