As the world pays attention to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and speculates on the possibility of a possible Russian occupation, the United Kingdom may lose an important region for it.
British ownership of the Chagos Archipelago was officially called into question on Monday when Mauritius’ ambassador to the United Nations, Jagdish Kongol, raised the country’s flag on one of the largest atolls, Pyrrhus Panhos. This was reported by the Guardian.
The official ceremony was held at 11 a.m. Monday local time and the national anthem was sung before the red, blue, yellow and green flags were raised.
It is a strategically important fulcrum
The case is not without precedent. Mauritius, located off the southeastern coast of the African continent, has been struggling for years to rejoin the archipelago in the Indian Ocean. In addition, there are proponents of this fight, as the United Nations Supreme Court had previously ruled that the British occupation of the islands was illegal.
However, it does not make sense for the UK to hand control over to Mauritius.
The British captured the Chagos Islands from Mauritius in 1965 to build a military base on them. This air base is used by US and British Air Force aircraft Afghanistan It was also used during the Iraqi intervention.
Population divided
Although there is no complete international consensus on the perception of the islands, the population is also deeply divided – Explained in a BBC article. After the British occupation, many Chagos Islanders were relocated to Mauritius, approximately 1,000 miles away, and some became home to Seychelles or Britain – a major community in Chagos, Crawley, West Sussex.
Due to their different occupations, Mauritian and British identities are common among the Chagoss people. Those who live in the United Kingdom claim to be British, and it is easier for them to travel to their relatives by traveling from British territory to British territory, which may change after a change of guard. Many of them view Mauritius officials’ sailing and raising their flag as mere media hysteria, and an electoral ploy.
In fact, the British passport is more valuable than the Mauritian passport. the Based on the Henley Global 2022 Passport Index British travel documents rank sixth, accepted by 186 countries, while Mauritius papers allow us to travel to only 146 countries.
