UK halts Chagos Island transfer after US withdraws support

The United Kingdom on Saturday paused its transfer of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after President Trump recently withdrew his cooperation for the 2024 agreement.

The U.K. and the U.S. have shared a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos, since the 1970s. The agreement to transfer the islands to Mauritius, which would allow for continued use of the base, stemmed from a decades-long legal battle to address Britain’s colonial past.

The British government on Saturday said it is permanently abandoning the agreement with Mauritius, stating that it cannot go forward with the transfer without U.S. support.

But the government noted that ensuring the Diego Garcia base’s “long-term operational security is and will continue to be our priority –– it is the entire reason for the deal,” according to an official statement.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/uk-halts-chagos-island-transfer-after-us-withdraws-support/ar-AA20FuAL