Loss of US Backing Forces Delay in Chagos Islands Transfer
London says it still supports the agreement in principle, but the legislation is being shelved because strategic support from Washington is no longer clear.
The British government has shelved legislation tied to the planned transfer of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after concluding that it no longer had enough time or political backing to complete the process.
A central problem was the loss of clear support from the United States. Diego Garcia, the largest island in the territory, hosts an important joint US-UK military base, so any transfer arrangement depends heavily on American agreement.
British officials said they still believe the deal could provide long-term security for the base, but they also repeated that the arrangement would proceed only if US support remained in place. Without that support, the legislation was effectively frozen.
The delay reopens a long-running dispute involving sovereignty, international law, military strategy, and the rights of Chagossians removed from the islands decades ago.