The Wall Street Journal reports that the UK has paused a controversial deal to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, which host the Diego Garcia, to Mauritius following criticism from President Donald Trump. The agreement, signed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mauritian leader Navin Ramgoolan last year, would hand sovereignty to Mauritius while leasing the base back to the US for 99 years at £100 million ($135.5 million) annually. UK officials stressed that the deal would not proceed through Parliament until consultations with Washington are complete, citing the strategic importance of Diego Garcia amid US China competition in the Indo-Pacific.
Tricky-Astronaut on
What exactly is the plan when the lease expires? A repeat of Hong Kong?
Dzingel43 on
I wish that when this story gets talked about people talked about what the Chagosian people actually wanted. Ideally they would decide the fate of the islands in a referendum, practically that is extremely difficult since they are spread out across the globe. But I haven’t really seen any thing that suggests they are overwhelming supportive of becoming part of Mauritius.
CentJr on
Anyone who supports this stupid deal can take it and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine. The UK can:
1) Keep the Islands and tell Mauritius to go pound sand.
2) Hand over the Islands to the US.
3) Give them back to the Chagossians.
In my opinion, I think giving the Chagossians their territory back is the best choice the UK can make. The Right to Self-Determination is a core value of International law afterall..
4 Comments
The Wall Street Journal reports that the UK has paused a controversial deal to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, which host the Diego Garcia, to Mauritius following criticism from President Donald Trump. The agreement, signed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mauritian leader Navin Ramgoolan last year, would hand sovereignty to Mauritius while leasing the base back to the US for 99 years at £100 million ($135.5 million) annually. UK officials stressed that the deal would not proceed through Parliament until consultations with Washington are complete, citing the strategic importance of Diego Garcia amid US China competition in the Indo-Pacific.
What exactly is the plan when the lease expires? A repeat of Hong Kong?
I wish that when this story gets talked about people talked about what the Chagosian people actually wanted. Ideally they would decide the fate of the islands in a referendum, practically that is extremely difficult since they are spread out across the globe. But I haven’t really seen any thing that suggests they are overwhelming supportive of becoming part of Mauritius.
Anyone who supports this stupid deal can take it and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine. The UK can:
1) Keep the Islands and tell Mauritius to go pound sand.
2) Hand over the Islands to the US.
3) Give them back to the Chagossians.
In my opinion, I think giving the Chagossians their territory back is the best choice the UK can make. The Right to Self-Determination is a core value of International law afterall..