A satellite communications system used by the US and UK to run military operations is central to efforts by Britain to resolve the sovereignty of the Chagos islands, UK security officials familiar with the matter said.

If Britain wants to remain a reliable partner in our security alliance, it must be willing to defend its sovereignty. As much as President Trump uses unpredictability as a diplomatic tool, I can predict one thing for sure: there is no way he will allow Britain to give up its sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.

A British minister denied on Wednesday media reports that the government could end up paying billions of pounds more to Mauritius under a renegotiated deal to retain a U.S.-British military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.