British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has allegedly withdrawn the enabling legislation that would have transferred the Chagos Islands to an increasingly Red China-friendly Mauritius. President Trump’s assertion that the handover of the Islands was “an act of great stupidity” probably had nothing to do with the reversal.
So, where are the Chagos Islands and why are they important?
Mauritius is a strong Chinese ally: Its trade with China has grown rapidly since the two countries signed a free trade agreement (China’s first such agreement with an African country), and China is now its top import partner. While not formally part of the Belt and Road Initiative, it still receives similar Chinese infrastructure investments. To Chinese investors and businesses, Mauritius serves as a gateway to the African market, wrote John Gustavsson in a recent article for National Review.
From a strategic perspective the deal was simply incomprehensible: The islands host the joint UK/U.S. Diego Garcia base, the alliance’s most important base in the entire region.
The transfer was also widely seen as violating the 1966 UK-U.S. treaty that led to the establishment of Diego Garcia, a treaty that requires Britain to maintain its sovereignty and arguably gives the President a veto over the transfer, noted our friend Rod D. Martin.
Plus, the largely uninhabited islands have belonged to Britain for more than two centuries. Such Chagossians as remain, descendants of the prior inhabitants, oppose the transfer of the islands from the UK to Mauritius.
So, why give up the Chagos Islands and the strategically key base on Diego Garcia?
Setting aside the allegations that a barrister, Philippe Sands, a co-founder of Matrix Chambers and a close friend of Keir Starmer’s, who was on the payroll of Mauritius, may have unduly influenced the Prime Minister, why give up the Chagos Islands?
The most obvious answer is Great Britain’s now near-fatal case of White Man’s Guilt for its colonial past.
This bad deal could come back at any time in the future, if he hasn’t done so already, President Trump must intervene to keep the Chagos Islands out of Mauritian and, most importantly, Communist Chinese hands.
George Rasley is editor of Richard Viguerie's ConservativeHQ.com and is a veteran of over 300 political campaigns. A member of American MENSA, he served on the staff of Vice President Dan Quayle, as Director of Policy and Communication for former Congressman Adam Putnam (FL-12) then Vice Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, and as spokesman for retired Rep. Mac Thornberry formerly a member of the House Intelligence Committee and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
So, where are the Chagos Islands and why are they important?
1. The Chagos Islands lie half-way between Africa and Indonesia, and host a key Anglo-American military base on the main island, Diego Garcia
2. France ceded the archipelago to Britain in 1814 separately from Mauritius; the islands were always a distinct territory, though, lacking suitable facilities, their administration was sited in Mauritius
3. To put the issue beyond doubt, Mauritius permanently renounced any claim to the islands in 1965 in return for a cash payment from Britain
4. Mauritius is 1337 miles from the islands, and began to press its claim again only when it grew closer to China in the early 2000s
5. Mauritius has no navy and admits it cannot protect the territory
6. The base has proved its strategic value many times, lying as it does lies within reach of four of the seven global choke points that funnel maritime traffic: the Bab-el-Mandeb, the Straits of Hormuz, the Malacca Straits and the Cape of Good Hope
2. France ceded the archipelago to Britain in 1814 separately from Mauritius; the islands were always a distinct territory, though, lacking suitable facilities, their administration was sited in Mauritius
3. To put the issue beyond doubt, Mauritius permanently renounced any claim to the islands in 1965 in return for a cash payment from Britain
4. Mauritius is 1337 miles from the islands, and began to press its claim again only when it grew closer to China in the early 2000s
5. Mauritius has no navy and admits it cannot protect the territory
6. The base has proved its strategic value many times, lying as it does lies within reach of four of the seven global choke points that funnel maritime traffic: the Bab-el-Mandeb, the Straits of Hormuz, the Malacca Straits and the Cape of Good Hope
Mauritius is a strong Chinese ally: Its trade with China has grown rapidly since the two countries signed a free trade agreement (China’s first such agreement with an African country), and China is now its top import partner. While not formally part of the Belt and Road Initiative, it still receives similar Chinese infrastructure investments. To Chinese investors and businesses, Mauritius serves as a gateway to the African market, wrote John Gustavsson in a recent article for National Review.
From a strategic perspective the deal was simply incomprehensible: The islands host the joint UK/U.S. Diego Garcia base, the alliance’s most important base in the entire region.
The transfer was also widely seen as violating the 1966 UK-U.S. treaty that led to the establishment of Diego Garcia, a treaty that requires Britain to maintain its sovereignty and arguably gives the President a veto over the transfer, noted our friend Rod D. Martin.
Plus, the largely uninhabited islands have belonged to Britain for more than two centuries. Such Chagossians as remain, descendants of the prior inhabitants, oppose the transfer of the islands from the UK to Mauritius.
So, why give up the Chagos Islands and the strategically key base on Diego Garcia?
Setting aside the allegations that a barrister, Philippe Sands, a co-founder of Matrix Chambers and a close friend of Keir Starmer’s, who was on the payroll of Mauritius, may have unduly influenced the Prime Minister, why give up the Chagos Islands?
The most obvious answer is Great Britain’s now near-fatal case of White Man’s Guilt for its colonial past.
This bad deal could come back at any time in the future, if he hasn’t done so already, President Trump must intervene to keep the Chagos Islands out of Mauritian and, most importantly, Communist Chinese hands.
George Rasley is editor of Richard Viguerie's ConservativeHQ.com and is a veteran of over 300 political campaigns. A member of American MENSA, he served on the staff of Vice President Dan Quayle, as Director of Policy and Communication for former Congressman Adam Putnam (FL-12) then Vice Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, and as spokesman for retired Rep. Mac Thornberry formerly a member of the House Intelligence Committee and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
