In a social media post, the US president described the move as the British giving the archipelago to Mauritius "for absolutely no reason," calling it "very stupid."
Britain counters that the proposed agreement, now being debated in the UK parliament, "secures operations at the shared American-British base on Diego Garcia for generations."
Mauritius will be granted sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, but the area around the base will be leased to the UK for at least 99 years. The base has been rumored to be used for secret military activities in recent decades.
