March 4, 2025 Story by: Editor
LONDON (Reuters) – British Foreign Secretary David Lammy stated that the new U.S. administration should have the opportunity to review an agreement between the United Kingdom and Mauritius concerning the future of the U.S.-British military base in the Indian Ocean.
“It’s right and proper that the new administration is able to consider it,” Lammy said during an interview with BBC Radio on Monday.
The agreement involves Britain relinquishing sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, a former colony that gained independence in 1968 and remains the last British overseas territory in Africa, to Mauritius.
As part of the deal, the U.K. would maintain control of the military base on Diego Garcia under a 99-year lease. Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden had previously stated that this arrangement would ensure the base’s operational effectiveness well into the next century.
However, Marco Rubio, Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, has raised concerns about the agreement, warning that it could jeopardize U.S. security by transferring control of the archipelago—home to a key military installation used by U.S. long-range bombers and warships—to a nation with strong ties to China.
Source: Reuters
