Trump says Chagos Islands handover plan is "an act of GREAT STUPIDITY"

The Chagos Islands, an Indian Ocean archipelago hosting the UK-US Diego Garcia military base, remain in question after President Donald Trump again objected to a British plan to hand sovereignty to Mauritius. Under the agreement signed in May 2025, which Washington had welcomed at the time, Britain would pay Mauritius at least 120 million pounds annually for a 99-year lease of Diego Garcia; lawmakers ran out of time to ratify it before the parliamentary session closed. Trump, who criticized the plan in January, repeated his opposition at a first meeting with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham during the UN General Assembly. Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said Britain is reviewing the pact and cannot proceed without American support, while opposition Conservatives urged Burnham to drop it. The base hosts about 2,500 personnel, mostly American.