Britain to return Chagos Islands to Mauritius ending years of dispute
Britain to return Chagos Islands to Mauritius ending years of dispute
Agreement to hand back UK’s last African colony follows 13 rounds of negotiations and international pressure
Agreement to hand back UK’s last African colony follows 13 rounds of negotiations and international pressure
The UK doesn’t do nice things, what’s the catch?
Overseas colonies are expensive, when they can't be brutally exploited, and the UK doesn't have an expansive global empire to suck the resources from anymore.
It does look like a sticking point here was a strategically significant FOB, Diego Garcia, which will not be handed back over.
So the UK has to suffer another embarrassment that reminds them they're no longer a global superpower, but they also get to save some money, and retain access to an important strategic asset.
They might also get some good press for continuing decolonization, I can't speak to that, as I'm not sure how, or where, they might have felt any real political pressure over this.
I wonder if this changes who gets all that juicy .io money