LONDON, Jan 20, (AP): The British government on Tuesday defended its decision to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after US President Donald Trump attacked the plan, which his administration had previously supported. Trump said that relinquishing the remote Indian Ocean archipelago, home to a strategically important American naval and bomber base, was an act of stupidity that shows why he needs to take over Greenland.

"Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital US Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER," he said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. "There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness."

The United Kingdom and Mauritius signed a deal in May to give Mauritius sovereignty over the islands, though the UK will lease back Diego Garcia where the U.S. base is located, for at least 99 years. The US government welcomed the agreement at the time, saying it "secures the long-term, stable, and effective operation of the joint US-UK military facility at Diego Garcia.”

U.K. Cabinet Minister Darren Jones said Tuesday that the agreement would "secure that military base for the next 100 years.” But it has met strong opposition from British opposition parties, who that giving up the islands, which have been British territory for two centuries, puts them at risk of interference by China and Russia.

Islanders who were displaced from the islands to make way for the US base say they weren't consulted and worry the deal will make it harder for them to go home. Legislation to approve the agreement has been passed by the House of Commons, but faced strong opposition in Parliament’s upper chamber, the House of Lords, which approved it, while also passing a "motion of regret” lamenting the legislation. It's due back in the Commons on Tuesday for further debate. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch criticized UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party government over the agreement.