The UK government has said that it will not finalise a deal to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius until the incoming US President-elect Donald Trump administration has had an opportunity to review the future of the joint military base located there. 

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Ministers had initially aimed to reach an agreement with Mauritius before Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan 20. However, when questioned about reports that Mauritius is seeking further talks, a spokesperson for Keir Starmer said, “We will only agree to a deal that is in the UK’s best interests and protect our national security. It is obviously now right that the new US administration has the chance to consider this and discuss this once they are in office … It’s perfectly reasonable for the new US administration to have a chance to consider the detail.”

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The spokesperson denied claims that Trump would have a “veto” over the agreement. 

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As per the reports that the Mauritian government recently held a special cabinet meeting to deliberate on the proposals. Rather than finalising the deal, Mauritius has sent a delegation back to London to negotiate further.

The UK is planning to return its last African colony to Mauritius but intends to lease back the Diego Garcia base, which is used by the United States, for a reported £90 million per year over a 99-year period. 

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The proposal has faced criticism from both UK politicians and the incoming US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who described the deal as a “serious threat” to American security, citing Mauritius’s ties with China. Donald Trump has not commented publicly on the matter.

Keir Starmer defended the negotiations earlier, saying, “We inherited a situation where the long-term operation of a critical military base was under threat due to legal challenges. The previous government initiated these negotiations. The then Foreign Secretary outlined to this house the purpose of the talks, which was to ‘ensure the continued effective operation of the base’. That is exactly what this agreement achieves.”

(With inputs from agencies)