US officials have drawn up a plan to bypass Britain and reach an agreement with Mauritius to buy the Chagos Archipelago, British media reported Sunday.
The plan is one of several drawn up by the US government to replace Britain’s plan to transfer sovereignty over the island to Mauritius, the Daily Telegraph reported, citing people familiar with the matter. People familiar with the matter also said that United States Secretary of the Treasury has informed President Trump about the“Acquisition” plan.
The Chagos Archipelago, located in the south-western Indian Ocean about 750 kilometres north-east of Mauritius, was ceded to British colonial authorities in 1965. The following year Britain leased Diego Garcia, the archipelago’s main island, to the United States for an air base. In May 2025, the United Kingdom and Mauritius signed an agreement on the transfer of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago. According to the agreement, the Diego Garcia military base will be leased by Mauritius to the UK and the US.
In January, Trump called Britain’s return of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius“Insane.”. According to British media reports in April, because the United States refused to fulfill the necessary steps, the British government was forced to shelve the transfer of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago to mauritius-related legislation. That same month, the Minister for Foreign Relations of Mauritius, Regional Integration and international trade, said his country would“Spare no effort” to recover the islands.