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[text/observer network chen sijia] according to a reuters report on october 3, the british and mauritian governments reached an agreement on the sovereignty of the chagos islands that day. the british agreed to give up the sovereignty of the chagos islands and transfer it to mauritius, but will retain it. british and american military bases on diego garcia. the agreement is expected to pave the way for chagos islanders to return home.

this agreement will resolve the decades-long territorial dispute between the united kingdom and mauritius and is regarded by the mauritian government as an important step in completing "decolonization." however, some british politicians have also forcibly linked to china, taking the opportunity to exaggerate the "china threat theory" and claiming that the agreement is a "dangerous capitulation" that is beneficial to china, which has close trade relations with mauritius, and "provides china with a military foothold in the indian ocean." possible".

according to reports, british foreign secretary lamy said that the agreement resolved the sovereignty dispute over the chagos islands, ensured the future of the diego garcia military base, and prevented the islands from being used as "dangerous illegal immigration routes to the uk." "today's agreement will strengthen our role in maintaining global security," lamy said.

us president joe biden welcomed the deal reached between the uk and mauritius. biden said that the agreement will ensure that the strategic diego garcia military base can operate effectively for the next century. "it enables the united states to support operations that demonstrate our shared commitment to regional stability, respond quickly to crises, and addressing some of the most challenging security threats.”

the mauritian government said the agreement aimed to resolve "outstanding issues" and "past mistakes" related to the chagos islands. mauritian prime minister jugnauth said in a televised speech to the nation on the 3rd: "after 56 years of our independence, decolonization has finally been completed."

the british broadcasting corporation (bbc) stated that according to the agreement reached by the two parties, mauritius will obtain sovereignty over the chagos islands, but agrees to retain the us and british military bases on diego garcia to ensure that the military bases will continue to operate for the next 99 years. mauritius is free to implement a plan to resettle residents on islands in the chagos archipelago, excluding diego garcia.

olivier bancoult, head of the mauritius-based chagos refugee organization, said the agreement was a "decisive turning point" that meant the injustices suffered by chagoss residents were finally acknowledged. the bbc also pointed out that this agreement is historic, marking that britain finally agreed to give up its last colony in africa after more than half a century.

the chagos islands are located in the indian ocean about 2,100 kilometers northeast of mauritius and have been controlled by britain since 1814. in 1965, the united kingdom separated the chagos islands from mauritius and jointly established a military base with the united states on the largest island, diego garcia. reuters stated that the united kingdom expelled nearly 2,000 residents of the island in order to build a military base.

the diego garcia military base is used by the us military to deploy naval ships and long-range bombers. the us military has dispatched aircraft from this base many times during air strikes in afghanistan and iraq.

after mauritius became independent in 1968, it has long been committed to the return of the chagos islands and has won support from the international community. in 2019, the international court of justice ruled that the uk's occupation of the chagos islands was illegal and required the uk to transfer sovereignty to mauritius as soon as possible. the united nations general assembly also passed a resolution in the same year urging the uk to return these islands as soon as possible.

at the end of january 2021, the international tribunal for the sea (itlos) ruled that the sovereignty of the chagos islands does not belong to the united kingdom. the international tribunal for the sea determined that the previous judgment of the international court of justice (icj) had legal effect and stated that "the decolonization process is not over yet, and mauritius's sovereignty over the chagos islands can be presumed by the judgment of the international court of justice."

however, the british government has always refused to recognize these rulings and refused to return the chagos islands. james heappey, the then british minister of defense and armed forces, even claimed that the maritime tribunal’s ruling had “no impact” on the uk.

until 2022, the united kingdom and mauritius will begin negotiations on the ownership of these islands. after the british labor party won the general election in july this year, the new prime minister starmer made solving the chagos islands issue a priority. british media mentioned that the former leader of the labor party, corbyn, said in 2019 that the united kingdom should give up its sovereignty over the chagos islands to correct historical mistakes.

in february 2022, mauritius ambassador to the united nations jagdish kuhoun and a number of mauritian officials raised the mauritian flag and sang the mauritian national anthem at the pelos baneus atoll in the chagos islands.

jugnauth said in a recorded speech at the time that this was the first time mauritius had sent a team to this part of the territory. “as a country with sovereignty over chagos, the message i want to convey to the world is that we will ensure that we smart management of this territory, including maritime security, marine environment and human rights, especially the return of those who live in chagos and their descendants.”

however, after the united kingdom and mauritius finally reached an agreement, some british politicians once again involved china and took the opportunity to promote the "china threat theory." tom tugendhat, the security spokesman for the british opposition conservative party, claimed that the agreement reached by the british government was "unfavorable to allies" and would "provide the possibility for china to gain a military foothold in the indian ocean."

british conservative mp robert jenrick also claimed on social media that the agreement was "a dangerous surrender" and would hand over so-called "british territory" to mauritius, which has close ties with china.

reuters mentioned that some western media asked u.s. state department spokesman matthew miller about the so-called "concerns about china." miller only responded: "the terms of the agreement do assure us that we can maintain the safety of our military bases." safety."

regarding such remarks advocating confrontation in the indian ocean region, liu yuxi, the chinese government’s special representative for african affairs, said at the 23rd ministerial council meeting of the indian ocean rim alliance held in october last year that the indian ocean is big enough to accommodate all parties working together. development, common prosperity, camp confrontation, and zero-sum game have no future in the indian ocean region.

although the dispute between the united kingdom and mauritius has been resolved, the united kingdom still controls other overseas colonies, such as the malvinas islands (called the "falkland islands" in the united kingdom) located in argentine territorial waters. in 1982, a war broke out between argentina and the united kingdom over the sovereignty of the falklands, and the war ended in british victory. however, argentina has never given up its claim to sovereignty over the falklands, and the united kingdom has refused to negotiate with argentina.

in 2016, the united nations commission on the limits of the continental shelf determined that the malvinas islands were within argentina’s territorial waters, but the united kingdom refused to return them. the bbc mentioned that after the uk reached an agreement with mauritius, the british-appointed governor of the falkland islands, alison blake, issued a statement on the 3rd stating that "the uk's commitment to defending the sovereignty of the falkland islands will not waver."

china has always supported argentina’s sovereignty claim on the malvinas islands issue. china's deputy permanent representative to the united nations geng shuang stated on june 18 that china firmly supports argentina's legitimate claim for sovereignty over the malvinas islands and has always advocated the resolution of disputes between countries through peaceful negotiations in accordance with the purposes and principles of the united nations charter. territorial disputes.

geng shuang made a speech when the special committee on decolonization of the united nations general assembly was reviewing the issue of the malvinas islands, saying that the issue of the malvinas islands is essentially a historical legacy of colonialism. the colonial era is gone forever, but many of the problems caused by colonialism remain unresolved. today in the 21st century, adhering to the colonial mentality, continuing colonial thinking, and delusional thoughts of expanding one's own interests and dominating the destiny of other countries through hegemony, hegemony, and bullying are completely against the trend and are destined to a dead end.

geng shuang said that china's position on the malvinas islands issue is consistent and clear. china urges the uk to actively respond to argentina's request, restart dialogue and negotiations with argentina as soon as possible, and find a peaceful, just and lasting solution in accordance with relevant united nations resolutions.

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