Britain halts the transfer of Chagos Islands to Mauritius after losing American support

With the loss of US support, the British government has been forced to suspend legislative work on returning the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. British officials recently admitted that there is insufficient time to pass this bill during the current parliamentary session, which is scheduled to end in the next few weeks.

The delay in handing over these islands, where the Diego Garcia military base jointly maintained by the United States and Britain is located, is seen as a clear sign of deteriorating relations between the two countries following Donald Trump's strong criticism of Keir Starmer's actions regarding the Iran war.

According to the proposed agreement, Britain was to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, and the largest island, Diego Garcia, was to be leased for a period of 99 years for the continued operation of the joint military base. Although this plan had the support of the US State Department, the American President recently criticized it, stating that transferring sovereignty over the islands was a big mistake. However, it is noteworthy that Trump had previously approved this agreement as the "best" possible under the circumstances, both in February and when Starmer visited the White House last year.

A major reason for Trump's change of stance is reportedly the US not being allowed to use British bases for a pre-emptive strike against Iran. Keir Starmer has only authorized American forces to use British bases like Diego Garcia for defensive operations against Iran. Last month, Iran also launched an attack on this joint military base, warning that allowing America to launch further attacks from British bases would endanger the lives of British nationals.

The United States not officially exchanging letters to amend the 1966 American-British agreement concerning these islands is considered another reason that influenced Britain to abandon the bill. Accordingly, a new Chagos bill is not expected to be included in the King's speech, which reveals the government's agenda for May. Commenting on this, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch stated that this clearly explains the Prime Minister's actions, who attempted to pay £35 billion to use a military base they already possess while handing over British territory.

In 1965, this group of islands, separated from Mauritius and named the British Indian Ocean Territory, saw thousands of its inhabitants forcibly removed. Mauritius gained independence in 1968, and since then, displaced Chagos islanders have taken several legal actions through British courts seeking compensation. Although Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer stated in Parliament that discussions with American counterparts had been temporarily halted, the Foreign Office later corrected this, announcing that there was no suspension or specific timeframe for discussions, and that schedules would be published as usual.