"Trump has received a UK-sourced briefing on Chagos and has asked the presidential transition team to work with the Pentagon to get legal advice. He has expressed a stance in principle to object to the deal if elected on the advice of the Department of Defense based on their global security posture," an unnamed US government official told the daily.
The archipelago, seen as a strategic territory in southeast Asia, has been a subject of dispute between the United Kingdom and Mauritius for decades. The UN General Assembly passed a resolution in 2019 demanding that the UK relinquish control of the islands, including the atoll of Diego Garcia, which hosts a UK-US airbase. Under the agreement, the UK will retain control of the Chagos Islands for 99 years. Diego Garcia has been leased to the US until 2036.
US President Joe Biden's administration welcomed the agreement between the UK and Mauritius, which is expected to take effect next year after ratification by the British parliament.
Mauritius and the Chagos Islands had been colonial possessions of the British Crown since 1845. In 1968, Mauritius gained independence, but the islands remained a British overseas territory. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Chagos population was deported to the Seychelles and Mauritius. In 1966, the UK leased the largest island, Diego Garcia, to the United States for 50 years. The lease was extended for 20 years in 2016.