Chagos before destruction
The Indian Ocean, Iran, Ukraine, Russia, South Korea, and technology.
Hello,
Here are the five things you need to know today:
INDIAN OCEAN. Trump changes his mind again on the Chagos Islands.
IRAN. Rumours and Russians spook energy markets.
UKRAINE. RUSSIA. Talks break off but will likely reconvene.
SOUTH KOREA. The former president receives his verdict.
TECHNOLOGY. Social media’s MAGAfication is its biggest vulnerability.
INDIAN OCEAN. Diego with a bone
Trump changes his mind again on the Chagos Islands.
Donald Trump said Keir Starmer was “making a big mistake” with “whoever it is” on Diego Garcia, after earlier this month accepting the deal was “the best he could make”. The Maldives objected to the UK transferring sovereignty to Mauritius.
INTELLIGENCE. Following a UN court advisory ruling and General Assembly vote, Starmer agreed last year to hand sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius, from where the Chagos Islands were previously governed prior to independence and the construction of a US-UK base on Diego Garcia. The Maldives, a sometime ally of China, is closer to the archipelago than Mauritius and has also had a longstanding claim to the island territory.
FOR BUSINESS. While neither the Maldives nor Mauritius was mentioned, Trump’s about-turn was likely triggered by the objection. What’s clear is he sees Diego Garcia as critical to countering Iran. In theory, there’s nothing stopping the US from declaring eminent domain on national interest grounds. It already has the assets in position, and it would be a neat litmus test for any future such claim on Greenland, which Denmark, rightly, says remains a real possibility.
IRAN. Strait and narrowing
Rumours and Russians spook energy markets.
Brent crude jumped 4.3% Wednesday after Axios said Trump was close to a “major war” with Iran and Russian ships arrived for joint drills in the Strait of Hormuz. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said any US strikes risked “playing with fire.”
INTELLIGENCE. There are many indicators of war, but there are many pointing to a
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