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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Daniel Boffey Chief reporter

What are the Chagos Islands – and why is the UK returning them to Mauritius?

US military aircraft at the airbase on Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands.
The UK has agreed to give Mauritius sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, but will lease Diego Garcia where it has a joint military base with the US. Photograph: Pictures from History/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump has described the UK’s plans to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as “an act of great stupidity”. He claimed that it had made it all the more important for him to take Greenland from Denmark. Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage, while critical of Trump over his threats of tariffs on European countries who oppose his territorial land grab, have been quick to lend Conservative and Reform support to the US president in his criticism of the UK-Mauritius treaty, which is now making its way through parliament.

What are the Chagos Islands?

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