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UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius

bbc.co.uk

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Re: UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius

#191

Post by bryanrasmussen »

IncreasePosts wrote: post #98
avinash wrote: post #17

I'm a citizen of the Republic of Mauritius and, when this news was announced today, there was a general sense of relief. Mauritius has been fighting for its sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago (with Diego Garcia being the largest island) for 56 years. Today, the Chagos Archipelago is part of Mauritius again and a treaty will (hopefully) soon be signed between the UK and Mauritius. From there, Mauritius will sign…

What exactly is the Mauritian connection to the Chagos Archipelago? Is it just because a lot of Chagossians went to Mauritius after getting kicked out? Obviously Mauritius and Chagos were ruled by the same people previous (French, then British), but is there a deeper history there? I ask this because the Chagos archipelago is like 1500 miles away from Mauritius - the Maldives, Seychelles, and even Sri Lanka and India…

I'm assuming if the were ruled as the same entity for a significant amount of time that there was a lot of movement between the two regions during that time with all that implies, intermarriage etc.

All of which would probably still mean there are lots of people still alive from the time the regions were separated that feel themselves to be nonetheless connected and unfairly kept apart.

Re: UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius

#192

Post by clarionbell »

mhh__ wrote: post #180
golergka wrote: post #173

Here in Argentina these news have been met with great enthusiasm.

So just as considerate of the chagossians as the population of the Falklands then?

Locals matter only when it's convenient. Note that this agreement wasn't negotiated with people who lived on Chagos islands, but with government that claims the territory.

Re: UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius

#193

Post by mr_toad »

matthewmorgan wrote: post #9

Some countries have constitutions that forbid giving up any parts of its territory, but apparently our government can hand over sovereignty without even a vote in parliament

In theory the BIOT was under the personal control of the King, and in theory he could do what he wanted with it.

Re: UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius

#194

Post by fosk »

mmooss wrote: post #67
connicpu wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's easier to move a single military base at the end of a lease than an entire country

AFAIK, the US and UK value Diego Garcia because currently there aren't geographical alternatives for that base. Where else could they put it that would have the same benefits?

I am sure that if at the end of 99 years the US or the UK still really really want to retain them, they will find a way (another lease, or by force).

Mauritius is not China. Not that I am suggesting for this to happen, but what are they going to do if the UK just decides not to leave after 99 years?

Re: UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius

#195

Post by logifail »

BurningFrog wrote: post #100
mmooss wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AFAIK, the US and UK value Diego Garcia because currently there aren't geographical alternatives for that base. Where else could they put it that would have the same benefits?

The lease expires in 2123. The militarily strategic landscape then is pretty much unknowable. To a 1925 (99 years ago ) military force, the Diego Garcia airfield would have had zero importance.

Q: Is there a reason for making a lease 99 years, rather than - say - 999 years?

Re: UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius

#196

Post by voidUpdate »

dan-robertson wrote: post #113

I guess this means the sun will now set on the British empire. It’s pretty far west from the Pitcairn Islands to Akrotiri and Dhekelia without the Indian Ocean territory in between.

This is exactly what I thought when I read this. https://what-if.xkcd.com/48/ makes no mention of the islands but I feel like it might cause a sunset now?

Re: UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius

#197

Post by caf »

trompetenaccoun wrote: post #106
rich_sasha wrote: post #41

I imagine whoever got the 99 year lease is feeling pretty pleased about it - that's basically forever as far as they can tell. On the other hand, I bet the UK in 1997 would have hoped for a longer lease on Hong Kong.

Hong Kong island was ceded to the British in perpetuity. The 99 years lease of the New Territories (not Hong Kong, technically) was an additional unequal treaty that the Qing were forced into on top of it, after they also had to give up Kowloon. The British could have asked for 150 years too, who'd have stopped them? Now the same happens to Britain in reverse. There is no benefit for any state to give up territory fo…

The article posts one reason why they'd give it up: they feel the ongoing issue of the Chagos Islands is hurting their ability to get diplomatic support in other international matters that are far more important to them.

Re: UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius

#198

Post by mr_toad »

threemux wrote: post #39
matthewmorgan wrote: post #9

Some countries have constitutions that forbid giving up any parts of its territory, but apparently our government can hand over sovereignty without even a vote in parliament

I'm assuming all this is contingent on a treaty vote in Parliament? I'm not familiar with how it works in the UK

It’s not part of the UK. It’s an overseas territory owned by the crown.

Re: UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius

#199

Post by [deleted] »

dangus wrote: post #103
ethbr1 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He is 71 and getting older. A lot of crazy things look more reasonable when you've had absolute power for a decade and aren't overly concerned about consequences in 20 years.

I think it's a mistake to give in to the temptation to jump to the conclusion that China is a tunnel-vision cult of personality everything-the-crazy-dictator-wants-he-gets government. The Chinese government under Xi has a well-established track record of long-term planning that has done nothing but elevated China's status and leverage in the world. It really couldn't be further from (e.g.) Putin's style of governance…

[deleted]

Re: UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius

#200

Post by Maken »

bryanrasmussen wrote: post #191
IncreasePosts wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What exactly is the Mauritian connection to the Chagos Archipelago? Is it just because a lot of Chagossians went to Mauritius after getting kicked out? Obviously Mauritius and Chagos were ruled by the same people previous (French, then British), but is there a deeper history there? I ask this because the Chagos archipelago is like 1500 miles away from Mauritius - the Maldives, Seychelles, and even Sri Lanka and India…

I'm assuming if the were ruled as the same entity for a significant amount of time that there was a lot of movement between the two regions during that time with all that implies, intermarriage etc. All of which would probably still mean there are lots of people still alive from the time the regions were separated that feel themselves to be nonetheless connected and unfairly kept apart.

There is no people to be reunited here. Everyone was kicked out of Chagos to Mauritius so the UK military base could be build.
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