It has been quite a week for Diego Garcia, the U.S.-U.K. base that covers the Indian Ocean, the Middle East, and East Africa. On Tuesday at the United Nations, President Donald Trump called the British plan to give Mauritius sovereignty over it a “terrible deal,” noting that B-2s striking Iran had to fly all the way from Missouri. The same day, he signed a security pact with Denmark and Greenland’s own government that keeps Danish sovereignty and locks out U.S. adversaries. The next morning, Britain’s defense secretary, Wes Streeting, said the Mauritius treaty “can’t go ahead without American support.” If the treaty cannot proceed without America, America should name its price.

Washington should not help London rescue that treaty. The White House should tell Prime Minister Andy Burnham that American support depends on a new plan, not a redraft with Mauritius. The reason is in the stalled 2025 U.K.-Mauritius treaty. It would put the base on a 99-year lease, extendable by 40 years only if Mauritius agrees. Mauritius could move to terminate it if Britain missed a payment. Britain would have to “expeditiously inform” Mauritius of any armed attack launched from the base on a third state. Robert Midgley of Friends of the British Overseas Territories told Fox News that Britain had already alerted Mauritius to an Iranian operation. London has not confirmed it. If a warning ever moved that way, it would sit one step from Beijing.