The United Kingdom is reviewing its agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after United States President Donald Trump criticised the deal.
UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting confirmed the review saying Britain needed to reconsider the agreement because of Washington’s opposition.
Trump described the deal as “terrible” during his meeting with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
Streeting said Britain would work with the United States to address its concerns, particularly over the future of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.
“We have to” review the deal because the United States does not support it, Streeting told BBC Breakfast.
Under the proposed agreement, Britain would transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while retaining access to the Diego Garcia base through a 99-year lease.
The deal, which was agreed in 2025, was paused indefinitely in April after Trump withdrew his support.
Burnham said Britain remained committed to finding a resolution that would protect the future of the military base.
“It’s critical to safeguard the future of the base, and that matters to us for security reasons, but also clearly to the United States as well,” he said.
Streeting later told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that no money would be paid to Mauritius while the agreement was under review.
The Chagos Islands have been the subject of a long-running sovereignty dispute between Britain and Mauritius.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion that Britain’s separation of the islands from Mauritius was unlawful and called for the UK to end its administration of the territory.
Britain subsequently opened negotiations with Mauritius in 2022, leading to the agreement reached in 2025.
The current review has no fixed timetable, with British officials indicating that any agreement would need the support of the United States.
