Reports suggest the United States is considering purchasing the Chagos Islands from the United Kingdom. A U.S. official emphasized the importance of the joint military facility on Diego Garcia.

“President Trump has been consistent in his position that the ‌United Kingdom should not give ​away the British Indian Ocean Territory, which includes our joint U.S.-U.K. military ⁠facility on the Diego Garcia atoll,” a U.S. official told Reuters.