In October 2024, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his intention to cede the Chagos Islands — an archipelago in the Indian Ocean that includes the island Diego Garcia and its joint British/American military base — to Mauritius. This move blindsided both his own and other parties, as it had not been discussed in the run-up to the election just three months earlier. Now, the House of Lords has intervened to delay the handover. With President Donald Trump recently having announced his opposition to the deal, the U.S. should now use this delay to stop it altogether.
While it may seem an internal British matter, it is anything but. Mauritius is a strong Chinese ally: Its trade with China has grown rapidly since the two countries signed a free trade agreement (China’s first such agreement with an African country), and China is now its top import partner. While not formally part of the Belt and Road Initiative, it still receives similar Chinese infrastructure investments. To Chinese investors and businesses, Mauritius serves as a gateway to the African market.
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