Trump reportedly considers buying Chagos Islands claimed by Maldives

US President Donald Trump is reportedly weighing a plan to buy the Chagos Islands from Mauritius amid stalled plans from the UK to cede sovereignty of the territory.

This was first reported by British newspaper the Telegraph on Sunday, and has since been covered by a number of news agencies including Reuters.

According to the report, US officials have drawn up a proposal to bypass the UK ‌and make their own deal to take control of Diego Garcia, which has been used as a joint UK–US military base since the 1970s.

The Telegraph reported that the plan was among several options being drafted by the White House, in a paper aimed at providing alternatives ​to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer ceding sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago ​to Mauritius.

In May 2025, the UK officially agreed to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius, ending over two centuries of British rule, in exchange for allowing the US and UK to continue operating the strategically important Diego Garcia military base for the next 99 years.

But the UK decided in April to shelve the plan after opposition from Trump, who, in February, called the deal a “big mistake.”

The plan to hand over Chagos to Mauritius is also opposed by Maldivian President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration, which asserts that the Maldives has historical claims to the archipelago dating back centuries, and is also geographically closer to the islands than Mauritius.

Mauritius decided to suspend all political relations with the Maldives in February over its stance on Chagos.

A month later, the Maldivian government announced it was pursuing a formal submission to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over its objection to the Chagos deal.