Watch Kennedy’s comments here.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) explained the danger of a possible deal the United Kingdom (U.K.) has been making to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, which is vulnerable to Beijing’s influence. Diego Garcia, one of the Chagos Islands, is home to a key joint U.S.-U.K. military base.

Key excerpts of the speech are below: 

“This is our military base. If we give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius—Mauritius says they'll lease us our own base for about [£90 million per year]—already China is circling Mauritius. Already, China is trying to be Mauritius’s best friend.”

. . .

“I don't have anything against the government of Mauritius. They're wonderful people. I understand they want the money. They want our money. They want your money. They want us to pay them for our own military base. We need to stop this deal.”

. . .

“It is bone-deep, down-to-the-marrow stupid for us—because of guilt over colonialism—to bow to the wishes of the United Nations and give a military base that we built to Mauritius, which eventually will end up in the hands of the Communist Party of China.”

Background

• On Jan. 15, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that he would allow President Trump and his administration to weigh in on any deal struck between the U.K. and Mauritius regarding the transfer of the Chagos Islands, including the transfer of the U.S.-U.K. shared military base on the island of Diego Garcia.

• The U.K. had previously announced on Oct. 3, 2024, that it had reached a deal with Mauritius to cede the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands. The decision to consider ceding sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius followed a years-long pressure campaign from the United Nations.

• The Biden administration had reportedly pressured the U.K. to enter the deal with Mauritius before the American and Mauritian elections took place—an idea Starmer initially endorsed.

• On Oct. 23, 2024, Kennedy wrote to then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken seeking answers about the Biden administration’s involvement in the deal between the U.K. and Mauritius. 

• Kennedy also penned this op-ed in Oct. arguing that the Biden administration owes the American people an explanation for its decision to allow this deal between the U.K. and Mauritius to move forward.

• Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), President Trump’s nominee for National Security Advisor, has criticized the deal, saying, “Should the U.K. cede control of the Chagos to Mauritius, I have no doubt that China will take advantage of the resulting vacuum.”

• Secretary of State Marco Rubio similarly condemned the deal and said it “poses a serious threat to our national security interests in the Indian Ocean and threatens critical U.S. military posture in the region.”

Watch Kennedy’s full speech here.