President Donald Trump criticized the UK’s plans to return sovereignty of Diego Garcia — an island that houses a crucial military base — to Mauritius, citing that decision to justify his ambitions for the US to acquire Greenland for national security purposes.
“Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social early Tuesday morning. “There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.”
Diego Garcia is a remote Indian Ocean island almost 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) from the coast of East Africa and is home to a US and UK military facility, allowing those nations to more easily carry out missions from the Middle East to Asia.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer reached a deal to hand the islands back to Mauritius and lease back the military base and Trump indicated last year that he backed that deal — in what was seen as an early win for the British government. The president’s comments throw that arrangement into doubt.
“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired,” he added. “Denmark and its European Allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING.”
Republican lawmakers have expressed alarm that the plans for Diego Garcia could allow China to spy on US activities there, amid growing fears that the Chinese are expanding their economic and military presence in the Indian ocean.
Trump’s post came shortly after he announced that he would meet with parties on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos to discuss his efforts to take over the Danish territory of Greenland, which he has said is critical to US security and is at risk of encroachment from China and Russia.
Trump has also threatened to impose tariffs on allies that are opposing his bid for Greenland, stunning NATO partners ahead of the crucial gathering of the world’s financial and political elite.