How an island paradise 6,000 miles from UK became vital to Western security after Trump slammed ‘terrible’ Chagos deal

PALM-fringed specks in the shimmering Indian Ocean, the Chagos Islands are a tropical paradise that at first glance appear ripe for tourism. It is easy to imagine their white, sandy beaches becoming crowded with luxury honeymooners’ hotels and scuba-diving schools. Yet the British archipelago in crystal-blue seas will greet no holidaymakers any time soon. For as Donald Trump made clear to PM Andy Burnham on Tuesday, the islands are one of the most strategically important pieces of military real estate on Earth. That is why the US President scuppered UK plans to hand over sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius, telling the Prime Minister the policy was “terrible”. So why are the Chagos so vital to Western security? And why did Britain strike a deal to give them away to Mauritius in the first place? READ MORE ON CHAGOS ISLANDS Almost 6,000 miles from the UK, the cluster of 60 islands is a relic of Britain’s imperial past. They form seven ring-shaped coral atolls and have been under British control since 1814. They were administered from Mauritius, 1,250 miles away from Chagos, when it was a British colony. In 1942, the RAF opened a base on the largest island, Diego Garcia, to allow war planes to hunt for German and Japanese submarines. Most read in The Sun Its mid Indian Ocean location between Africa and Asia led it to be likened to a static and unsinkable aircraft carrier. In 1965, Britain separated the islands from Mauritius — to which it paid £3million in compensation — and established the British Indian Ocean Territory. Three years later, Mauritius gained independence from the UK, leaving the Chagos Islands under British administration. The US had pushed for the deal as it was keen to put a military base on Diego Garcia. As part of the agreement, the UK promised to cede the islands to Mauritius when they were no longer required for defence purposes. A joint US-UK military base was built on Diego Garcia in the Seventies, leading to the forced removal by the British government of Chagossians who lived there. The base became a cornerstone of the special relationship between Britain and the US. During the Cold War, Admiral Sergey Gorshkov, Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Union’s Navy, said: “Diego Garcia is a dagger pointed at the heart of the Indian Ocean.” The geographic importance of the Chagos was underlined in 1979 when 66 Americans were taken hostage by Iranian revolutionaries. Under pressure to keep oil flowing through the Persian Gulf, the US built a 12,000-foot-long runway for its heavy bombers on Diego Garcia. A deep-water pier — suitable for refuelling and resupplying US and UK aircraft carriers and submarines — was also constructed. Diego Garcia was a key launch pad for US air operations in the 1991 Gulf War, the 2003 Iraq War and targeting the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Today, its airfield hosts US long-range bombers the B-2 Spirit and B-52 Stratofortress, as well as C-17 Globemaster transporters and P-8 Poseidon spy planes. In 2024 and 2025, the US used the Chagos to launch bombing against the Houthis in Yemen. Its deep-water port remains a key resupply hub for vessels deployed in the Indo-Pacific. The Chagos’s role as a vital intelligence hub is less well known. Surveillance equipment there gathers intelligence, thwarts terrorist attacks and protects satellites. Monitoring gear on Diego Garcia is used to detect if countries are testing nuclear weapons. And it is one of just four locations in the world with a ground antenna that maintains the accuracy of GPS for civilian phone users and the military. Little wonder, then, that Trump wants its sovereignty to remain with key ally Britain. Yet in 2019, the UN’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, ruled British sovereignty over the islands was illegal. It was only an advisory ruling, but the UN General Assembly voted to back a motion that Britain should withdraw within six months. While the UK failed to comply, it left a cloud of uncertainty over ownership of the remote islands. In 2024, Sir Keir Starmer’s government agreed to hand the islands to Mauritius — a Chinese ally — and then lease back Diego Garcia for £35billion over 99 years. The US initially backed the deal, before Trump urged Britain not to “give away Diego Garcia”. Then came the Iran War. Starmer at first refused to allow the US the use of UK bases for bombing sorties. It meant US heavy bombers had to use a base in Missouri to launch raids on Iran. Then, a month into the war, Britain reversed its decision as Iran attacked Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes and stifled the world economy. Iran responded by launching at least two intercontinental ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia, which failed in flight or were intercepted. Yet the mullahs had highlighted just how important the Chagos are to Western defences. On Tuesday, Trump gave Andy Burnham a lesson in superpower might. Meeting on the fringes of the UN General Assembly, he told the PM the Chagos handover was a “terrible deal”. The President added: “You know, we had to send our B2 bombers . . . back to Missouri, as opposed to flying for a short period of time. It’s amazing how strategic it is and I think the Prime Minister is going to be looking at it.” Burnham then replied: “Yep.” Yesterday, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said handover plans were on hold, adding: “We’re not going to go ahead without the Americans.” Now, Burnham, who has signalled he wants to concentrate on domestic affairs, may have to wrangle a new deal the US is happy with. For the sake of Western security, sun loungers won’t be appearing on the Chagos beaches just yet.