Mauritius Denies Receiving US Proposal on Chagos Islands Amid Reported White House Plan

Mauritius says it has not received any proposal from the Trump administration over reports that the White House may consider buying the Chagos Islands. It insists its sovereignty over the archipelago is non-negotiable. The report suggested the idea is part of alternative options to a UK-Mauritius deal on the islands, which host the key U.S.-UK base on Diego Garcia. Britain has paused its transfer plan, which had faced criticism from Donald Trump, who called it a “big mistake.”

Mauritius stated on Monday that it has not received any official proposal from the Trump administration regarding the Chagos Islands, following a report by The Telegraph suggesting that the White House was considering a plan to purchase the islands from Mauritius.
In its statement, the Mauritian government said it had taken note of the media report but emphasized that no formal communication had been made by the United States, either directly or indirectly, concerning any separate arrangement involving Diego Garcia or the wider Chagos Archipelago. It firmly reiterated that its claim to sovereignty remains unchanged, describing it as non-negotiable.
According to The Telegraph, the reported proposal is one of several options being explored by the White House as part of a broader policy paper intended to offer alternatives to a deal in which Britain would transfer sovereignty of the Indian Ocean territory to Mauritius. The Chagos Islands are strategically significant due to the presence of the jointly operated U.S.–U.K. military base on Diego Garcia, which is regarded as one of the most important U.S. installations in the Indian Ocean.
The issue has long been politically sensitive. Britain decided in April to pause its planned agreement to hand over sovereignty of the islands, a move that had already drawn criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump previously described the proposed transfer as a “big mistake,” signaling opposition to changes in the current arrangement.
The historical background of the dispute traces back to the late 1960s and 1970s, when Britain removed up to 2,000 indigenous Chagossians from the islands to establish the military base on Diego Garcia. Last year, Britain had agreed in principle to transfer sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius while retaining operational control of the base through a financial arrangement reportedly worth £101 million annually.