Boris Johnson blasts Starmer for 'completely wrong' Chagos Islands decision - 'Total nonsense!'. The former Prime Minister urged people to look at out 'how far away' the Islands are.
Argentina last night vowed to gain control of the Falkland Islands in the wake of Keir Starmer 's decision to hand by the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after more than 200 years as a British territory.
In an intervention that will fuel rising Tory criticism of the UK-Mauritius agreement and its perceived implications for other overseas territories, Ms Mondino said: 'The long dispute between Britain and Mauritius came to a conclusion today, with Mauritians successfully regaining their territory of Chagos.
Sir Keir Starmer is facing major pressure over what critics said was the 'surrender' of Chagos, a strategically important archipelago in the Indian Ocean that is the site of the US air base at Diego Garcia. 'It's one of the things we bring to the table. It has been for decades, that base. Why are we trading away our sovereignty over it?'
In a statement on Thursday, Falklands governor Alison Blake sought to reassure residents that Britain's commitment to the South Atlantic territory was 'unwavering'. For administrative purposes, Britain grouped the Chagos Archipelago and several other islands together with Mauritius.In 1965, when Mauritius began negotiating its independence, Britain paid £3million to keep Chagos and a few other islands out of the settlement.
In 2021, United Nations' highest court has ruled that the UK's control of the territory is 'unlawful'.Advertisement She said the historical context of the two territories was 'very different'. But there was concern China could seek to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific by building on one of Chagos' many surrounding uninhabited islands.
'This deal not only threatens our security but also undermines our allies, opening the possibility of China gaining a military foothold in the Indian Ocean.' 'Mauritius is very, very close to India and the Indians also have welcomed this agreement because they see it as so important for security in the Indian Ocean.'So this notion that we've somehow given the Chagos Islands to an ally of China is rubbish, and anyway the negotiations were started by the previous Tory government.'
Inside the 'ghostly' Chagos Islands atoll so secretive that journalists are banned - and its links to major nuclear arms dealAfter decades of wrangling over the fate of the Chagos Islands, and the key US-UK military base they host, the British government has agreed a deal to hand over sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius.
Around 1,000 miles from the nearest landmass, with no commercial flights allowed to land and those wanting to step foot on the island needing a permit, very few have been allowed to stay there. US Naval Construction Battalion - known as the Navy 'Seabees' - bathe at the swimming pool on Diego Garcia in an archive image from 1981
British police cars are present, but drive on the right-side of the road, while the dollar is the accepted currency. The new agreement with Mauritius is set to guarantee the two countries' rights to operate the military base for at least the next 99 years. A Foreign Office memo in 1966 stated that the object of its plan 'was to get some rocks which will remain ours; there will be no indigenous population except seagulls'.
More than 1,000 people lived on Diego Garcia before it was taken over and turned into a US-UK military base
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