US secures 99-year rent-free access to Diego Garcia naval base
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The pact has sparked political debate in Britain, with the Reform Party's deputy leader Richard Tice indicating that if the Reform Party were to win, the pact would be cancelled.
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The USS Carney in the Mediterranean Sea on October 23, 2018 (AP)
The United States is preparing to acquire long-term, rent-free access to Diego Garcia, a distant military base in the Indian Ocean, under a pact close to being signed by Mauritius and the United Kingdom.
The pact permits US soldiers to utilize the island for 99 years without paying rent.
The proposed pact won approval from US President Donald Trump, with the announcement made on April 1. Both the United Kingdom and Mauritius have shown a desire to finalize the agreement as quickly as possible.
However, the pact has sparked political debate in Britain.
The Reform Party, which has recently outperformed both the ruling Labour Party and the Conservative opposition in public opinion polls, raised considerable concerns.
During an interview days ago, Deputy Leader Richard Tice indicated that if the Reform Party were to win power, the pact would be canceled. He also criticized the US' free access, arguing that Mauritius had previously received money in 1965 when it agreed to waive future claims to the Chagos Islands, where Diego Garcia is located.
Meanwhile, the US is increasing its military actions on Diego Garcia. Analysts utilizing satellite photos recently observed B-2 Spirit stealth bombers being armed on the runway.
These planes are thought to be involved in continuing airstrikes on Yemen's Ansar Allah.
The USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108), an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, was en route to the Chagos region, crossing westward through the Malacca Strait by April 3, and was cruising in the Indian Ocean.
Sources say Diego Garcia presently hosts about seven B-2 bombers, accounting for nearly one-third of America's complete fleet of these powerful aircraft.
US President Donald Trump has threatened that if Iran does not reach a nuclear agreement, there would be a bombardment "the likes of which they have never seen before."
The sheer number of bombers presently stationed in Diego Garcia suggests that the US is preparing for military action or that the deployment is intended to send a strong message to the Iranian leadership.
These stealth bombers, sometimes known as "ghosts of the sky," are designed to evade even the most sophisticated air defense systems.
According to a former US Air Force colonel quoted in news reports, the move is intended to put pressure on Iran to either cease its alleged backing for the Yemeni Armed Forces in Yemen or resume nuclear talks.
Diego Garcia was thought to be well out of range of enemy strikes owing to its isolated position. The island is located in the center of the Indian Ocean, approximately 1,960 kilometers southwest of Thiruvananthapuram, India, and 3,500 kilometers east of Tanzania.
