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A deal appears to be in the last stages of negotiation between Mauritius and the UK over the continued use of Diego Garcia, a key base for U.S. naval and air operations in the Middle East and Africa.\u00a0 This follows President Trump\u2019s approval of the detailed draft treaty which was announced on April 1. Both the UK and Mauritian government have indicated that they are keen to finalize the treaty as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
However, Britain\u2019s Reform Party, which has been ahead of both the governing Labour Party and the Conservative official opposition party in opinion polling over the last three months, promised on April 6 to annul any treaty signed should it be elected to power.\u00a0 Richard Tice, the Deputy Leader of the party, said in a television interview that he was not surprised the United States supported the deal, because it gave the United States rent-free use of Diego Garcia for the next 99 years.\u00a0The Reform Party would \u2018rip up\u2019 the treaty, on the basis that Mauritius accepted a deal in 1965 under which it accepted payment in return for surrendering all future claims to the Chagos Island archipelago.<\/p>\n
\nCNN is reporting that the 6 B-2 \u201cSpirit\u201d Long-Range Strategic Stealth Bombers with the 509th Bomb Wing, which arrived recently at Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, are being used for strikes against the\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/eTHDPoYn8A<\/a><\/p>\n
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