    [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2025)]
    [Senate]
    [Pages S1335-S1336]
    From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                          Mauritius and Chagos Islands

      Mr. President, I want to spend 5 minutes talking about another
    subject because President Trump tomorrow has a very important meeting
    with Prime Minister Starmer of the United Kingdom.
      This is the Indian Ocean. You have heard me talk about this. A group
    of islands right here are the Chagos Islands. This is China over here.
    Down here is another group of islands called Mauritius that I will talk
    about in a second.
      Why do I talk about the Chagos Islands? Well, from 1715 to 1810, the
    Chagos Islands were owned by France. In 1814, France gave the Chagos
    Islands to the United Kingdom. At the time, the United Kingdom--after
    France gave the islands to them--not only owned the Chagos Islands, but
    the United Kingdom also owned Mauritius.
      The United Kingdom administered both the Chagos Islands and Mauritius
    from headquarters in Mauritius. Mauritius never owned the Chagos
    Islands--never. They were always owned either by France or by the
    United Kingdom, which owns them today. The only connection Mauritius
    had with the Chagos Islands was that the United Kingdom owned both at
    the same time and administered the two groups of islands from
    headquarters in Mauritius.
      After the United Kingdom acquired the Chagos Islands here, the United
    States of America built one of the most important military bases in the
    world on one of the islands called the Diego Garcia--hugely important.
    The United Kingdom helped, but we put up most of the money.
      Now, Mr. Starmer, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, has
    decided that he wants to give the Chagos Islands, with our military
    base, to Mauritius. He wants to give it to them.
      We said: Wait a minute. We have a military base here. What about our
    military base?
      Mr. Starmer says: Well, I am going to give all of the islands,
    including the military base, to Mauritius--even though Mauritius never
    owned them.
      Now that Mauritius owns them, we are going to pay Mauritius $9
    billion over time--I want to be fair, over time--for a military base
    that we built. What? Why? Well, I will tell you why. Prime Minister
    Starmer feels guilty because the United Nations--actually, it is not
    the United Nations; rather, a group called the International Court of
    Justice, which is loosely affiliated with the United Nations, issued a
    ruling that criticized the United Kingdom for actually owning the
    Chagos Islands.
      They said: United Kingdom, you are an anti-colonialist. You should
    feel guilty, you should feel bad, and you need give the Chagos Islands
    away. You need to give them to Mauritius even though Mauritius never
    owned them.
      That is what is going on. That is all that is going on.
      Now, how did this get started? The Prime Minister of Mauritius--his
    name was Prime Minister Jugnauth--sued in the International Court of
    Justice--he sued the United Kingdom. He said: Give me Mauritius and the
    military base.
      He filed a lawsuit. The International Court of Justice, based in the
    Netherlands, issued a ruling in Mauritius's favor. It is an advisory
    opinion. It is not binding on anybody. But Mr. Jugnauth got what he
    wanted on behalf of Mauritius.
      A few weeks later, Prime Minister Jugnauth got beat, and he was
    replaced by a new Prime Minister, whose name is Prime Minister
    Ramgoolam. Prime Minister Ramgoolam said: Not only do I want the
    Mauritius Islands, you are not paying us enough, United Kingdom and
    America.
      According to news reports, he wants not only 9 billion,
    he wants 18 billion for our own military base.
      He said: We will lease you the base that you built, which we,
    Mauritius, now own, back to you, but you have to give us between $9 and
    $18 billion.
      Isn't that special? Isn't that special? That is what is going on.
      Now, there is one other thing you need to know. Mauritius is very
    close to China. Mauritius has a very lucrative trade agreement with
    China, and you might be surprised to learn that after all of this has
    been developing, China all of a sudden is Mauritius's best friend. Do
    you know why? Because if Prime Minister Starmer does this, Mauritius is
    going to own the base. They are going to own the base.
      Now, Prime Minister Starmer is going to meet with President Trump
    tomorrow to try to talk President Trump into agreeing to this. The
    Prime Minister of the U.K. has already said: If President Trump is not
    comfortable with me giving away an American military base--I want to
    giggle when I say that--if President Trump is not comfortable, I won't
    do it.

      Here is what the Prime Minister is going to tell President Trump
    tomorrow. He is going to say, No. 1: Mr. President, we need to do this
    because it is the right thing to do.
      The United Nations' International Court of Justice, which is
    comprised of

    [[Page S1336]]

    a bunch of weeny wokers, has issued an advisory opinion saying that we
    and the United Kingdom should feel guilty because we used to own
    Colonies.
      Prime Minister Starmer is going to say: Mr. President, we need to
    give these islands away and your military base, Mr. President, because
    it is the right thing to do.
      The second thing he is going to tell the President is that if we
    don't do it, China is going to get really mad. He is going to say:
    China is going to get really mad if we don't do this.
      The third thing he is going to tell the President is that if we don't
    do this, the United Nations could cut off the telecommunications for
    our military base--like the United Nations is going to all a sudden,
    out of the blue, cut off the spectrum and the telecommunications for an
    American military base. They have no jurisdiction to do that, and they
    also don't have the oranges to do that.
      There is one other thing I want to mention. I didn't mean to go on
    this long, but this is an important meeting the President is having.
    Remember I told you about the Prime Minister who started all this,
    Prime Minister Jugnauth? He got beat--you will recall me saying it--in
    2024.
      A few weeks ago, former Prime Minister Jugnauth was arrested. He was
    arrested for money laundering. The Mauritius authorities searched his
    house and the home of one of his closest associates, and do you know
    what they found? They found $25 million in cash in various currencies.
    They found Rolex watches, they found Cartier watches, and they found
    United Kingdom visas. I am not saying that they are connected, but it
    is mighty interesting.
      Here is what one of the generals who formerly worked for President
    Trump has said about this deal that stinks to high heavens--GEN Herbert
    McMaster:

           Mr. President, it would put us, the United States, at a
         significant strategic disadvantage, especially at a time when
         China is trying to gain control of critical terrain and
         chokepoints around the world in this effort to create new
         spheres of influence.

      So to President Trump, my President, tonight I say: Don't do it, Mr.
    President. Please don't do it. I don't care what Prime Minister Starmer
    promises you. The only reason he is doing this is because he feels
    guilty because the United Nations has said that the United Kingdom
    should be ashamed of its history and ashamed that it at one time owned
    Colonies.
      People of the United Kingdom can feel what they want. That is none of
    my business. But we have an American military base there, and it is
    very important to defend the Indian Ocean against China.
      Please, Mr. President--please, President Trump--don't let Prime
    Minister Starmer talk you into giving away an American military base
    that we need to combat China to another country that never owned it
    just because Prime Minister Starmer feels guilty.
      I am sorry he feels guilty. He needs to go buy an emotional support
    pony. But he doesn't need to give away an American military base.
      Mr. Trump, President Trump, please don't agree to this.
      That is it. I am out of gas. My work here is done. This is important,
    this meeting with Prime Minister Starmer tomorrow. I don't want to lose
    a military base we need. So I appreciate your indulgence.

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