Strategic Islands

[davidbfpo]

Ho hum:

The UK has been ordered to hand back the Chagos Islands (Added: which includes Diego Garcia) to Mauritius “as rapidly as possible” after the United Nations’ highest court ruled that continued British occupation of the remote Indian Ocean archipelago is illegal.

Link:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/25/un-court-rejects-uk-claim-to-sovereignty-over-chagos-islands?

An AP report bizarrely refers to:

The Pentagon’s heavily fortified air base on Diego Garcia..

Link:https://www.theglobeandmail.com/worl...an-colony-the/

As I recall there is a very small RN detachment, with some launches and I doubt anything is fortified.

[davidbfpo]

An update on the competition on Socotra between Yemeni factions: those who support the Hadi government and the UAE-funded & trained Security Belt Forces.

Note a likely fact 60,000 residents and

The UAE first deployed fighters to Socotra last April. Until then, the island had been free of the fighting that raged on mainland Yemen.

Link:https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/a...yemens-socotra