Trump is really harping on this in the presentable with the German chancellor. They both banged on Spain for not spending to the required levels of NATO.

But then he started going after the UK. Particularly about Diego Garcia and the fact that the Brits handed over control to some indigenous folks and that was part of the issue with "permission" to use the facilities there.

I suspect Trump may set his sights on this isle in addition to Greenland and Cuba.

I will have to familiarize myself with this speck of land in the middle of the ocean, but welcome what others know on the island, is strategic importance and if we should just go ahead and assume control since the Brits have shown they are not capable.

NonReg85 said:

---

Yes. It is of strategic importance to CENTCOM, INDO-PACOM and SPACECOM. This isn't a Trump thing. The US will keep its presence there no matter what the UK or any other nation does.

---

This. It's not the Panama Canal level of importance but it's the most important base we have in the Indian Ocean that gives us the ability to reach out in every direction. We will not give it up and it appears the locals don't want us to give it up either. There are no locals on Diego Garcia itself but in the surrounding island chain, they don't want to be controlled by China.

flown-the-coop said:

---

I will have to familiarize myself with this speck of land in the middle of the ocean, but welcome what others know on the island, is strategic importance and if we should just go ahead and assume control since the Brits have shown they are not capable.

---

I have a relative who commanded Air Force Strategic Command aircraft and spent a lot of time in Diego Garcia while on mission monitoring our enemies.

Quote:

---

Considering that there's no evidence whatsoever that Diego Garcia was inhabited by anyone prior to the Portuguese discovering the place I find the argument for ceding control to "indigenous" people beyond absurd.

---

Keir Starmer is a marxist and not our ally.

TarponChaser said:

---

Considering that there's no evidence whatsoever that Diego Garcia was inhabited by anyone prior to the Portuguese discovering the place I find the argument for ceding control to "indigenous" people beyond absurd.

---

It makes complete sense to our enemies and their useful idiots in the UK.

TarponChaser said:

---

cef88 said:

---

---

The Chagossians didn't live there prior to the 1790s. They're a creole ethnic group and most of them who lived on Diego Garcia were initially brought as slaves to work coconut plantations.

---

I know, wikipedia says "they were brought there in the 18th century"

Imagine being sent to Mauritius and the Seychelles as your indigenous "reservation".

So is this sort of trying to string together creole peoples across the Indian Ocean as some sort of new age Polynesians who bravely plowed the open oceans on other peoples boats 250 years ago are now considered a single first peoples with inherent land rights.

I didn't know the authors of the 1619 project had moved on to their next historical fiction stories.

cef88 said:

---

TarponChaser said:

---

cef88 said:

---

---

The Chagossians didn't live there prior to the 1790s. They're a creole ethnic group and most of them who lived on Diego Garcia were initially brought as slaves to work coconut plantations.

---

I know, wikipedia says "they were brought there in the 18th century"

---

Finally, some clarity on what's considered 'indigenous'. My French-Huguenot family was run out of France in 1650, arriving on what is now Staten Island by 1653. Ergo, I am indigenous. Where's my GD reparations?

GUYS, I agree with you. It's absurd that they are considered indigenous. I was just posting the beginning of the Wikipedia to further show that they were brought there as slaves and hence, aren't indigenous.

Oh I appreciate the information and the absurdity.

As mentioned in the OP, I know of the place and its military importance, but nothing of its "history".

Though I have met some of those Chingasaucens as the wife and I spent a week in the Seychelles about 20 years ago. Beautiful place.

Brits had a great casual bar iback in the day there.

"Dodge City"

I mailed something like 50 lbs of seashells and coral to myself from DG illegally.

TarponChaser said:

---

Considering that there's no evidence whatsoever that Diego Garcia was inhabited by anyone prior to the Portuguese discovering the place I find the argument for ceding control to "indigenous" people beyond absurd.

---

And even if there were, wgas. People get conquered. That's just how it goes, sorry you were living in grass huts and eating coconuts, bro.

Southlake said:

---

Brits had a great casual bar iback in the day there.

---

The view from the o club is one of the absolute best on earth, only to be rivaled by the chiefs club.

Southlake said:

---

Brits had a great casual bar iback in the day there.

---

They still do.

So who the hell owns Diego Garcia? Mauritius? And they get paid 101 million ANNUALLY for rent on an island they gave away? And I am sure we pay our "fair share" of that rent.

Trump should just take it and send the Brits packing and tell Mauritius and its fake natives to shove it.

Quote:

---

Diego Garcia is the largest island in the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean. Its ownership and control have been a matter of international dispute and recent diplomatic changes.

Historically, Diego Garcia (as part of the Chagos Archipelago) was administered by the United Kingdom as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) since 1965, when the UK separated it from Mauritius (a former British colony) to establish the territory. This allowed the UK and the United States to build and operate a major joint military base on the island starting in the early 1970s, under agreements dating back to 1966.

In recent developments:

Following long-standing legal challenges (including a 2019 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice favoring Mauritius's claim), the UK and Mauritius reached an agreement.

A treaty was signed in May 2025 under which the UK recognizes Mauritius as having sovereignty over the entire Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia.

In exchange, the UK (and by extension the joint UK-US base) leases back control and operational rights over Diego Garcia (and a surrounding buffer zone) for an initial period of 99 years (with options for extension), at a significant annual cost to the UK (reportedly averaging around 101 million per year).

As of early 2026 (around the current date), the situation is:

Sovereignty formally belongs to Mauritius under the terms of the 2025 treaty.

However, the UK exercises administrative and sovereign-like rights over Diego Garcia itself to maintain the military base uninterrupted.

The deal has faced complications, including criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump (who has urged the UK not to "give away" Diego Garcia, despite earlier indications of U.S. support), leading to pauses or delays in full ratification/implementation by the UK Parliament and ongoing discussions with the U.S.

Some sources indicate the transfer process is not fully complete or has been paused amid these concerns (e.g., potential influence from China via Mauritius), but the signed agreement points to Mauritius as the sovereign power with the UK holding a long-term lease for the base.
In practice, the island remains a restricted military installation with no permanent civilian population (the original Chagossian inhabitants were forcibly removed in the 1960s1970s), and it is jointly operated by UK and U.S. forces under British administration on-site.
For the most up-to-date status, the situation could evolve depending on ratification progress or further U.S./UK negotiations.

---

UK never tried to "give away" Diego Garcia. They made a deal to lease it for 99 years. You know what other base is "leased"? Guantanamo Bay. Last I checked Cuba didn't get a say in what we do there.

We agreed to pay Cuba $4k annually not 100 million pounds and then defer to them regarding what sort of activity can be conducted.

Like I said, Trump will fix this.

What exactly would the Brits have to defer to Mauritius over? Sources please.

Sea Speed said:

---

Southlake said:

---

Brits had a great casual bar iback in the day there.

---

The view from the o club is one of the absolute best on earth, only to be rivaled by the chiefs club.

---

Yeah, It's an awesome view, but you never got The Green Flash unless you went here...

Sea Speed said:

---

TarponChaser said:

---

Considering that there's no evidence whatsoever that Diego Garcia was inhabited by anyone prior to the Portuguese discovering the place I find the argument for ceding control to "indigenous" people beyond absurd.

---

And even if there were, wgas. People get conquered. That's just how it goes, sorry you were living in grass huts and eating coconuts, bro.

---

For sure.

I just get a chubby thinking of the possibility of monster GT, bonefish, and Indo-Pacific permit cruising those flats and almost nobody fishing for them.

Dude I used to catch giant trevalle on the lights every single night on home made lites sight casting to them. Absolute monsters. It was so much fun. Caught a ton of bonefish as well but I don't think I ever caught a permit. Caught a dogfish tuna, a bunch of mahi, wahoo and a 500ish lb black marlin standing up as well. I had an absolute blast in DG.