China could “effectively veto” the US’s access to trading in the Indo-Pacific if the world’s second largest economy continues to build up its military forces, the Trump administration’s national defence strategy paper has said, putting Keir Starmer’s Chagos deal under intense scrutiny.
A document published by President Trump’s Department of War has described China as the “most powerful state” compared to the US since the 19th century, with its potential to spend more on military being labelled a major development.
The paper said the US’s security was linked to the Indo-Pacific as the region would “soon make up more than half of the global economy”.
“The American people’s security, freedom, and prosperity are therefore directly linked to our ability to trade and engage from a position of strength in the Indo-Pacific,” the paper said.
However, the paper made no mention of Taiwan and dropped previous descriptions of China as spreading authoritarianism.
The paper also said Russia’s military threat was “primarily focused on Eastern Europe” and that its priorities would be on “deterring China” rather than defending European allies, which had a “smaller and decreasing share of global economic power”.
Trump collides with Starmer
The document throws into question whether the US remains committed to backing Keir Starmer’s deal to hand over the Chagos Islands, which are in the British Indian Ocean Territory, to Mauritius.
A shared US-UK military base on Diego Garcia will be leased back over 99 years at a cost of £3.5bn.
But the deal faces hurdles given President Trump’s unexpected attacks in the wake of European allies’ criticism of his approach on Greenland.
A bill on the Chagos deal which has to pass through parliament was expected to be tabled on Monday but a Tory amendment in the House of Lords claiming the handover could violate a treaty with the US has scuppered its passage.
Labour officials have insisted the bill will go ahead despite pulling it as national security adviser Jonathan Powell has argued the deal was key to the UK’s national security.
Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said it was a “major victory for everyone standing against Keir Starmer’s disgraceful Chagos surrender”.
“In the face of relentless Conservative pressure, Labour have pulled their shameful bill from Monday’s order paper.” she said.
The Chagos handover deal could be the centrepoint of fraying relations between Trump and Starmer.
On Friday, the Prime Minister hit out at Trump’s “appalling” comments that British troops stayed off the frontlines during the war in Afghanistan.
Starmer said: “Let me start by paying tribute to 457 of our armed services who lost their lives in Afghanistan. I will never forget their courage, their bravery and the sacrifice that they made for their country.
“There are many also who were injured, some with life-changing injuries. And so I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and, frankly, appalling.”
Starmer also called on the President to apologise for his remarks.
