Diego Garcia, The Chagos Islands and Mauritius
The Mascarene possessions that form Mauritius, also include 2.3 million square miles of the Indian Ocean. It is in fact the worlds largest primarily Oceanographic State.
Four days ago on 3 October the BBC made the announcement that Britain would be handing back the Chagos Island to Mauritius. If you Googlehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buTyuf2BvLw, you should arrive at the correct announcement and commentary. It is more accurate and carefully researched than any of the other commentaries.
In fact the basis of the agreement was concluded some 3 years ago, when the Prime Minister of Mauritius proudly but a little tentatively planted the Mauritian flag on the rocky outcrop at the very edge of the Chagos Island, and the displaced Chgaossians in the UK and in Mauritius raised a cheer.
They have been fighting since 1965 for their rights. These include not only the rights to their homes, but also their financial rights, and the rights of Mauritius itself to the wealth locked into this outlying group of Islands that the United Nations International Court handed back to Mauritius in 2014.
But in fact this never happened in 2014 because the then Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had reservations about handing back the Islands to Mauritius. He referred to the Mauritian Government as a bunch of monkeys in a private memo, captured and published by Wiki Leaks. He continues to deny, like Donald Trump denies the Jan 6 Insurrection, that the Islands are in fact the sovereign territory of Mauritius.
Diego Garcia is in fact the USA Strategic Military base in the Indian Ocean. It is the outreach re-fueling and launch point for the Middle East and beyond. Britain received 14 billion MUR for this privilege, and while Mauritius crept in sugar cane- fueled poverty through 50 years of impoverishment Britain collect the rentals under the Deigo Garcia treaty with the USA. It was one of the least forgivable Colonial decisions of the time.
As its tenant and an esteemed ally, Mauritius cements already extremely cordial relations with the United States. The outgoing American Ambassador did an Open Water course with our Instructor Bobby, and many Americans dive with us. They love Mauritius' calm, humility and hospitality. We have the un-judgementalism of Hindu, the elegant precision and good taste of France, and the efficient administration of Great Britain, but above all, we are free of corruption thanks to The Code Napoleon.
Mauritius has signed a Europeche Agreement with the EU. This entitles the EU nations to catch fish in the Indian Ocean. The contract agreed the EU would monitor the activities of fishing vessels in the Indian Ocean and it was agreed that these fish would be processed at Princes Tuna, a division of IBL, and internationally listed company based in Mauritius.
Sadly most of the European countries took the fish home and processed it there. Undaunted Mauritius signed a training agreement with Japan who agreed to train young Mauritians on how to catch fish from the few fishing trawlers made available on lend lease. Our Divemaster Bernard was one of them. In 2017 the new processing harbor at Princess Tuna was completed and 12 Trawlers were supplied.
There are concerns about the Trade Agreement that Mauritius has signed with China. As a member of BRICS, China is in good standing with the rest of Africa, so a trade agreement seems to be a natural progression for Mauritius. If the Chinese are prepared to catch fish and process them at Princes Tuna this can only be good for Mauritius. Exporting a beneficiated product is excellent economics.
Following COVID there is a surplus of fish in the Indian Ocean, and if this is properly monitored and controlled by the EU is should not pose a problem.
The way I see it, Mauritius poses no threat to the United States.
However where Britain is concerned we would welcome British scuba divers after all the shocking lies they were told by Mr Johnson. He listed Mauritius as an UNSAFE tourist destination. He refused to cover British travellers' Medical insurance. And he deprived hundreds of poor people of their rights and economic heritage for 10 years.
He's referring to the country with the lowest COVID deaths of any in the world, with a superb history of inclusive democracy. This is the Kamala Harris model, and it works.
He claims in The Independent
Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius has made Britain look “weak” and “pathetic”, Boris Johnson has claimed.
He dismissed the idea that the deal, intended to secure the future of a secretive military base on the island of Diego Garcia, would buy the country influence on the global stage.
The agreement has faced criticism after leaving the UK without sovereign territorial control over a piece of land in the Indian Ocean that is deemed crucial to Western security.
More garbage from Mr Johnson.
He would do well to follow the example of Mauritius. Humility and Respect.
Terrific news