Mauritius Rejects ‘Purchase’ Talk: Chagos Islands Sovereignty Not For Sale

Port Louis has moved to dampen speculation over reports that the Trump administration is eyeing a buyout of the Indian Ocean archipelago to secure the Diego Garcia base.

The calm of Port Louis was briefly interrupted this week by reports emanating from London that the White House was drafting a plan to purchase the Chagos Islands. For a territory that has spent decades fighting to reclaim its ancestral lands, the response from the Mauritian government was swift and unequivocal: no such proposal has been received, and more importantly, the sovereignty of the archipelago is non-negotiable.

The speculation originated from a Telegraph report suggesting that U.S. officials were looking for ways to bypass a stalled British plan to transfer control of the islands to Mauritius. The proposed deal, which would have seen the UK cede sovereignty while retaining long-term access to the strategically vital Diego Garcia base, hit a wall in April. Donald Trump, who has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with the arrangement, previously dismissed the transfer as a “big mistake,” prompting the British government to put the agreement on hold.

A Legacy of Displacement

The geopolitics of the Chagos islands are inseparable from a painful history. In the late 1960s and 1970s, up to 2,000 indigenous Chagossians were forcibly displaced by the British to make way for the U.S.-UK military facility on Diego Garcia. While the UK had reached a tentative deal last year to return the islands to Mauritius—while paying £101 million annually to maintain the base—the intervention of the Trump administration has introduced a new layer of uncertainty to an already fragile diplomatic process.

For Mauritius, the legal battle for the Chagos has been a cornerstone of its foreign policy. The International Court of Justice delivered a landmark advisory opinion in 2019, declaring the British administration of the territory unlawful. The UN General Assembly subsequently backed this stance, adding significant international weight to Port Louis’s claim. Any move by the U.S. to "buy" the islands would not only fly in the face of these rulings but would also likely alienate the very partners whose cooperation is required to keep the Diego Garcia base operational.

Why it matters

The Indian Ocean is increasingly the theatre for a high-stakes power struggle, and Diego Garcia sits right at the heart of it. As a critical logistical hub for U.S. operations across the Middle East, Africa, and the Indo-Pacific, the base is arguably Washington’s most important military asset in the region.

The reported interest in purchasing the islands suggests a shift toward a more transactional approach to regional security. By attempting to cut out the middleman—the UK—and striking a direct deal with Mauritius, the U.S. risks destabilizing a delicate sovereignty transition. However, by firmly shutting the door on a sale, Mauritius has signaled that it is not looking for a quick payout; it is looking for the restoration of its territory. As the dust settles on these reports, the focus remains on whether the UK and Mauritius can salvage their agreement or if the Chagos archipelago will remain trapped in an indefinite geopolitical limbo.