ERBIL () — Britain will rework its agreement with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands after President Donald Trump again criticized the deal, with UK Defense Secretary Wes Streeting saying Washington’s opposition has made further changes necessary.
Streeting said Wednesday that Trump’s latest comments made clear that the US president does not support the agreement in its current form, and that London would need to work with Washington and the Trump administration to revise it.
“The ostrich strategy of sticking our heads in the sand and hoping it will go away... is not a wise strategy when it concerns one of the most sensitive national security assets we have anywhere in the world,” Streeting told Times Radio.
Trump renewed his criticism during his first meeting with new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Trump described the agreement as “terrible” and said he expected Burnham to reconsider it, while the British leader nodded and agreed.
Burnham later said Britain would “work hard” to find a resolution and expressed confidence that it could do so while working with its US allies.
The UK had already put the Chagos agreement on hold in April after failing to secure Washington’s political backing. The legislation required to implement the treaty could not complete its parliamentary passage after the US position changed.
Under the agreement, Mauritius would assume sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, while Britain would retain authority over Diego Garcia for an initial 99-year period to ensure the continued operation of the joint UK-US military base. The agreement also envisaged annual payments by Britain to Mauritius.
Diego Garcia is strategically important to both Britain and the United States because of its location in the Indian Ocean. The UK government has described the base as a key military asset supporting operations across the Middle East, Indo-Pacific and Africa.
The dispute dates back decades. Britain retained control of the Chagos Islands when Mauritius gained independence in 1968 and later removed thousands of Chagossians from the archipelago.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice said Britain was under an obligation to end its administration of the islands, a ruling that became an important factor in subsequent UK-Mauritius negotiations.
The original agreement was reached in 2024 and formally signed in May 2025. It was designed to resolve the sovereignty dispute while guaranteeing the long-term operation of the Diego Garcia base.
The UK government has maintained that securing the future of Diego Garcia remains the central objective, while Prime Minister Burnham said this week that Britain intends to work with both Mauritius and the United States to find a way forward.
