UK drops plans to hand Chagos back to Mauritius which had a border dispute with Maldives

...The United Nations has called for the islands to be returned, with a UN court ruling Britain’s possession of the overseas territory “unlawful”. Located in the Indian Ocean, 310 miles south of The Maldives, the Chagos Islands are home to the Diego Garcia military base, which is leased by the UK to the United States and has been used for American bombing missions in the Middle East. The archipelago is known in the UK as the British Indian Ocean Territory...READ MORE FROM THE TELEGRAPH

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NOTE: Read my Dhivehi translation of this news item for Adhives Online magazine at this link:

ADDITIONAL INPUT BY "ADHIVES ONLINE" MAGAZINE: 

Chagos is located south of Maldives and north of Mauritius. Maldives and Mauritius border dispute was settled by International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) early this year when 47,232 square kilometers were handed over to Maldives from its southern waters while 45,331 square kilometers were accorded to Mauritius. The decision was immediately criticized by Maldivian political parties and many Maldivian citizens who criticized the Maldives' government of President Ibrahim "Ibu" Mohamed Solih. Delimiting a single maritime boundary for the exclusive economic zone (the “EEZ”) and continental shelf within 200 nautical miles (“nm”) between the Maldives and Mauritius meant both countries which contested for the 95,000 square kilometers of the common but disputed territory had to settle for a "compromise" according to criticism levied by the then Maldives' Opposition who claimed that ITLOS arrived at the decision after taking into consideration a controversial letter by Ibu to the Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.