Source: World Wide Web
"Some 300 people on the island of Agalega in Mauritius are worried about their future, as the island could become home to an Indian naval base." Qatar's Al Jazeera tv wrote in a report on the 3rd.
Screenshot of Al Jazeera's report
Al Jazeera said a media investigation revealed how India had built a 3-kilometer-long airstrip and two military docks on the island over the past two years. Military analysts confirmed the findings, saying the island could be used by the Indian Navy for maritime intelligence and reconnaissance missions. Russia's satellite network quoted a former Indian naval officer as saying the base could become a "potential check and balance" for China.
Rumors and media reports about the Indian military base first surfaced in 2018, but at the time both Mauritius and India denied that the construction project was for military purposes and argued that the infrastructure was only for islanders. However, Al Jazeera said the islanders, who make a living from fishing and planting coconut trees, do not believe the $250 million construction project is for them.
"We asked for an airport and a hospital, but we didn't ask for such a big airport," said Islander Franco Pley, "and when we saw this airport, we were worried." ”
Al Jazeera said the islanders feared they would follow in the footsteps of the inhabitants of Diego Garcia. While Mauritius was still a British colony, the British leased the island to the United States. In 1971, it became a U.S. military base, and the island's residents were forced to relocate elsewhere.
The Russian satellite network also interviewed Wassan, a former Indian naval officer, in its report on the incident. Wassan is a former Indian Coast Guard regional commander and currently heads the Chennai China Research Centre, an Indian think tank. He said the base in Agalega had been "in the making" for some time. He also claimed the base would be a "potential check and balance" against China.
Screenshot of the Russian satellite network report
In addition, Vassan also claimed that since the signing of a free trade agreement between China and Port Louis in Mauritius last December, India's "strong presence" in Mauritius will also ensure that the country "does not fall into the orbit of Chinese influence".
India has always loved to treat China as an imaginary enemy. Just on August 2, Indian media said that the Indian Navy will send a fleet of four warships to deploy in Southeast Asia, the South China Sea and the western Pacific waters for more than two months, and will participate in the "Malabar-21" four-country naval exercise with the United States, Japan and Australia. The Indian media also hyped that this was "sending a stern message to China." Regarding the Malabar military exercise, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin once expressed the hope that the military actions of relevant countries can be conducive to regional peace and stability, not the other way around.
As for the "four-country mechanism" that India has been desperately trying to cater to, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman also expressed the hope that cooperation between relevant countries is open, inclusive and win-win, can be conducive to world and regional peace and stability, and become a positive force for good, rather than having intentions and targeting specific countries.