Feb 6, 2025 04:47 AM
(This post was last modified: Feb 6, 2025 04:59 AM by C C.)
Only 21 square miles total. The biggest island is Diego Garcia, which is only 12 square miles, where the military base is located.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Britain’s handover of the Chagos Islands is pleasing nobody
https://www.politico.eu/article/britain-...se-africa/
INTRO: A tiny group of islands more than 6,000 miles from the U.K. has given Keir Starmer’s government an almighty headache that shows little sign of easing.
Just three months into power, Labour pulled off what it billed as a diplomatic coup: ending a long-running dispute over the status of the Chagos Islands, one of Britain’s final imperial possessions, while protecting a joint U.K.-U.S. military base there for decades to come.
But the praise hasn’t exactly come flooding in. Britain relinquishing control of what’s often dubbed its “last African colony” to Mauritius has generated deep opposition, mistrust and disappointment from almost every direction — including members of the Trump administration.
The British government is currently waiting for the White House to approve the agreement, amid publicly expressed concern from some in President Donald Trump’s team that the deal provides a strategic boost to China.
In the meantime, opposition Conservatives, who started the negotiations in 2022, charge that Labour has sold out a territory vital for Britain’s geopolitical interests.
Complicating matters further, the Mauritian government has changed since the announcement — and now wants more money to make the deal stick. It’s prompted briefing and counter-briefing from the two sides about what’s actually being promised.
And all the while, expelled Chagossians say they are being sidelined... (MORE - details)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Britain’s handover of the Chagos Islands is pleasing nobody
https://www.politico.eu/article/britain-...se-africa/
INTRO: A tiny group of islands more than 6,000 miles from the U.K. has given Keir Starmer’s government an almighty headache that shows little sign of easing.
Just three months into power, Labour pulled off what it billed as a diplomatic coup: ending a long-running dispute over the status of the Chagos Islands, one of Britain’s final imperial possessions, while protecting a joint U.K.-U.S. military base there for decades to come.
But the praise hasn’t exactly come flooding in. Britain relinquishing control of what’s often dubbed its “last African colony” to Mauritius has generated deep opposition, mistrust and disappointment from almost every direction — including members of the Trump administration.
The British government is currently waiting for the White House to approve the agreement, amid publicly expressed concern from some in President Donald Trump’s team that the deal provides a strategic boost to China.
In the meantime, opposition Conservatives, who started the negotiations in 2022, charge that Labour has sold out a territory vital for Britain’s geopolitical interests.
Complicating matters further, the Mauritian government has changed since the announcement — and now wants more money to make the deal stick. It’s prompted briefing and counter-briefing from the two sides about what’s actually being promised.
And all the while, expelled Chagossians say they are being sidelined... (MORE - details)