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.

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.

The UK government said it wouldn’t provide any details on a proposed multibillion-pound deal to continue operating a military base in the Chagos archipelago once it cedes control of the islands until it’s finalized,