Washington is weighing a dramatic diplomatic pivot in the Indian Ocean, with the Trump administration reportedly exploring a direct purchase of the Chagos Islands from Mauritius rather than relying on the controversial leaseback deal struck by the United Kingdom. The proposal, first reported by the Daily Telegraph and confirmed by Reuters, has sent shockwaves through London, Port Louis, and Washington alike — and could reshape the future of one of the most strategically vital military outposts on the planet.
At the centre of the story is Diego Garcia, the coral atoll that hosts a massive Anglo-American military base and has been a launchpad for operations from Iraq to Afghanistan. Under a 2025 agreement negotiated by Sir Keir Starmer’s government, Britain was set to formally hand sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius while leasing back Diego Garcia for 99 years at an average cost of around £101 million a year. That deal is now effectively on ice, with the Americans openly mulling a counter-offer that would cut London out of the middle.
According to multiple reports, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has personally presented the purchase idea to President Donald Trump, framing it as a clean solution to a diplomatic mess that has long irritated Washington. The plan, insiders say, would see the United States acquire the entire Chagos archipelago outright, then negotiate its own long-term access arrangement for Diego Garcia directly with Mauritius. The price tag has not been disclosed, but diplomats suggest the sum could run into the multi-billion-dollar range given the islands’ military value and the compensation Mauritius would expect.
The move comes barely a year after Trump’s aborted push to acquire Greenland from Denmark, and officials in both Port Louis and London privately view the Chagos talk as a direct extension of that broader “expand the map” doctrine. A senior US official, speaking anonymously to international media, insisted the proposal was “purely about strategic continuity” and warned that “no foreign power will be allowed to gain a foothold in waters that American servicemen have defended for half a century.”
Why the US Chagos Islands deal matters far beyond the archipelago
The strategic logic is straightforward and, for Washington, urgent. Diego Garcia sits astride key shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean, roughly 1 600 kilometres south of India’s southern tip and within striking range of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the east African coast. The base houses long-range bombers, naval assets, and surveillance aircraft that are central to US power projection in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
What has spooked the Americans is not Mauritius itself, but Beijing’s growing footprint in the country. According to industry data referenced by analysts, Chinese banks have lent more than $1 billion to roughly 30 investment and infrastructure projects in Mauritius since 2018, and a new China-Mauritius Free Trade Agreement took effect at the start of this year. Several opposition figures in the UK have also alleged, without providing evidence, that Beijing is quietly eyeing a separate lease on Peros Banhos, a northern atoll in the Chagos chain, located about 140 nautical miles from Diego Garcia.
A Mauritian government spokesperson moved quickly to cool that speculation, confirming that Port Louis has not received any formal US proposal to buy the islands. The statement, issued late on Sunday, stressed that Mauritius remains bound by the negotiated framework with London and is “not in discussions with any third party on sovereignty matters.” Privately, however, Mauritian officials are understood to be intrigued by the prospect of a far larger payday than the modest lease fees currently on the table.
| Party | Position on US purchase | Key concern |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Actively considering a direct buy from Mauritius | Chinese influence, base security |
| United Kingdom | Officially silent, but reportedly alarmed | Loss of face, role as guarantor |
| Mauritius | Denies receiving any formal offer | Sovereignty, financial terms |
| China | Watching closely, no public comment | Strategic encirclement in Indian Ocean |
| India | Quietly concerned | Regional balance of power |
The single biggest takeaway from those positions is that no one is on the same page. Washington wants certainty, London wants to avoid humiliation, Port Louis wants the best deal, and Beijing is content to let the dispute fester.
The reaction in London has been muted but distinctly frosty. British officials, who spent years negotiating the original treaty and even held a ceremonial signing in October 2024, now fear being sidelined in a deal that directly affects sovereign British territory. Several Conservative MPs have already demanded Prime Minister Starmer recall Parliament for an urgent statement, arguing that ceding sovereignty to Mauritius only for Washington to step in and “buy the same islands back” would be a historic diplomatic embarrassment.
For the Trump administration, the appeal is partly about optics and partly about realpolitik. Owning the Chagos outright would, in theory, insulate Diego Garcia from any future Mauritian government that might be tempted to play the China card in exchange for investment or political support. It would also give Washington a direct hand in deciding the fate of the roughly 1 500 to 3 000 Chagossians — the displaced islanders who were removed from the archipelago between 1967 and 1973 to make way for the base and who have been fighting a decades-long legal battle for the right to return.
Critics, however, warn that a US purchase would be legally and diplomatically treacherous. International law experts point out that the Chagos sovereignty question has been contested in the International Court of Justice, the UN General Assembly, and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, with all three bodies backing Mauritian sovereignty. A bilateral sale to Washington would, in their view, simply relocate the legal headache rather than resolve it.
There is also the question of cost and Congressional appetite. A multi-billion-dollar overseas land purchase would require approval from a deeply divided US legislature, and several Democratic senators have already signalled they will demand hearings before any cheque is written. With midterm elections looming, the political appetite for another “America first” territorial adventure — especially one in the middle of the Indian Ocean — is far from guaranteed.
Still, the very fact that Washington is floating the idea has fundamentally reshaped the conversation. What was, until last week, a sleepy post-colonial negotiation between Britain and its former colony has now become a three-way strategic auction involving the world’s two biggest military powers and a country of barely 1.3 million people sitting on one of the most valuable pieces of real estate on earth.
For now, the ball is in Bessent’s court. US negotiators are expected to engage their Mauritian counterparts in the coming weeks, while British diplomats scramble to salvage some role in the process they thought they had already finished. Whether the Chagos Islands end up under the Stars and Stripes, the Union Jack, or the Mauritian flag, one thing is certain: the US Chagos Islands deal will be one of the defining geopolitical stories of the year, and South African readers should keep a close eye on it given our own long coastline and growing strategic interest in the Indian Ocean.