Move would bypass Britain and give Washington direct control over Indian Ocean outpost
![Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit's Special Reconnaissance Platoon conduct simulated reconnaissance and surveillance missions as part of a mock amphibious assault at the naval support facility on Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, in March. [Getty Images]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/08/news-p.v1.20260608.dfb57db697d143228de572366631e81d_P1.jpg)
The United States is considering purchasing the Chagos Islands — a strategically vital Indian Ocean archipelago that hosts a joint US-UK air base — directly from Mauritius, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported Sunday.
According to the report, the US government has drawn up an independent negotiating proposal with Mauritius aimed at securing control of Diego Garcia, the main island in the Chagos chain, bypassing Britain entirely.
The British government signed an agreement last May to transfer sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius while retaining control of the Diego Garcia military base for at least 99 years. The deal has since been put on hold, however, following opposition from Donald Trump.
Trump, who initially supported returning the islands, reversed course after tensions flared with European allies — including Britain — over Greenland, calling the handover "a big mistake" and arguing that Britain should not lose control of Diego Garcia. He then moved to block the plan after Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused to allow the US to use the Diego Garcia base for strikes on Iran in the early stages of the war with Iran.
The Telegraph said the purchase proposal is one of several options the Trump administration is considering amid growing uncertainty over the islands' future, and that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was directly involved in drafting the plan and presented it to Trump.
Calls to maintain strategic military bases worldwide have grown louder in light of the war with Iran and China's naval buildup. The Diego Garcia base is considered highly valuable — it keeps Iran within striking range and can sustain around-the-clock long-range bombing operations, including B-2 Spirit stealth bomber strikes on Tehran.
Senior officials in the Trump administration have long worried that ceding control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, which maintains close ties with China, could open the door to hostile maritime intelligence operations in the area.
Meanwhile, no purchase price for the Chagos Islands has yet been discussed. Britain had originally planned to pay around 35 billion pounds (approximately $47.2 billion) to lease the military base from Mauritius for 99 years after the handover.
The Telegraph said that for the US to actually gain control of the Chagos Islands, it would likely need to first allow Britain's sovereignty transfer agreement to go through, then negotiate separately with Mauritius once the islands' sovereignty had changed hands.
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