Mauritius Says It Has Received No US Proposal on Chagos Islands

Mauritius stated on 8 June 2026 that it had received no proposal from the US administration regarding the Chagos Islands, responding to a media report that the White House was weighing a plan to buy the islands. Mauritius said its sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago remains 'non-negotiable'.

The Chagos Archipelago is a group of islands in the central Indian Ocean. Its largest island, Diego Garcia, hosts a major US–British military base. The archipelago has long been at the centre of a sovereignty dispute: Britain separated it from Mauritius before granting independence and forcibly displaced up to 2,000 indigenous Chagossians to build the base.

Britain had agreed last year to cede sovereignty over the islands to Mauritius, but put the deal on hold in April after criticism, including from the US administration. The reported American interest in buying the islands is one of several options said to be under discussion.

For India, the Chagos issue is relevant to Indian Ocean security and the broader question of decolonisation, an area where India has consistently supported Mauritius's sovereignty claim. Diego Garcia's strategic location also makes it important to the balance of power in the Indian Ocean Region.