Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: US President Donald Trump, who has threatened Greenland and other territories with annexation and/or higher tariffs, was furious on Monday at the United Kingdom’s deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago back to the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius while retaining control of Diego Garcia, the media reported.
The crucial archipelago included an island with an important US-UK airbase.
Diego Garcia is the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago and has been used as a joint UK–US military base since the 1970s. It’s a British overseas territory, although a treaty to transfer sovereignty from the UK to Mauritius was signed on May 22, 2025, with a provision that the military base at the island would remain under British control for at least 99 years. but to lease the military base on Diego Garcia for £101 million (USD 135.7 million) a year.
Reacting to the fresh development, Trump lambasted Britain’s as an act of “total weakness” and “great stupidity” underlining why he wants to acquire Greenland.
The so-called “special relationship” between the US and UK was left looking bruised on Tuesday after Trump posted a tirade against London’s decision to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
The White House supported the deal in 2025 but, on Tuesday, Trump said it was “an act of great stupidity.”
“Shockingly, our “brilliant” NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital US Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER,” Trump posted on his own social media platform. Truth Social on Tuesday.
He said China and Russia would view this act as one of “total weakness,” and that they were international powers that only recognized strength.
“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.”
Denmark and its European allies, who oppose his Greenland takeover bid, had to “do the right thing,” he said.
Responding to Trump’s comments, a UK government spokesperson said on Tuesday that “the UK will never compromise on our national security.”
“We acted because the base on Diego Garcia was under threat after court decisions undermined our position and would have prevented it operating as intended in future,” he added, according to comments published by BBC News.
Rift within NATO
Trump’s comments came amid a growing rift between the US and its European NATO allies, including the UK and France, over the President’s incessant pursuit of Greenland, a Danish overseas territory in the Arctic.
Greenland, Denmark, and European leaders have said the island is not for sale, but Trump has not ruled out using military force to seize the territory if necessary. He also threatened eight European NATO allies with escalating tariffs from February 1 if they continued to block his takeover bid.
The UK is the second NATO ally to be lambasted by Trump in as many days, with the President threatening to impose 200 percent tariffs on French wines and Champagne on Monday after French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly turned down a seat on Trump’s “Board of Peace” for Gaza.
The UK has tried to defuse tensions between the US and Europe, calling for cool heads and further discussions over Greenland.
In a press conference on Monday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Britain greatly values its long-standing special relationship with the US, but that only Greenland and Denmark can decide the island’s future.
“On Greenland, the right way to approach an issue of this seriousness is through calm discussion between allies,” Starmer said at a press conference in Downing Street, the PM’s official residence.
Starmer spoke to Trump on Sunday night, telling him he was wrong to threaten to impose fresh tariffs on NATO allies if they didn’t agree to his demands to “buy” Greenland.
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