Planned Indian Military outposts in Seychelles and Mauritius

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Assumption in Seychelles.

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Agalega in Mauritius


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Airfield in Agalega
 
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Planned Indian military base stirs Seychelles controversy

Currently, the remote coral island has a tin shack post office, an air strip and almost no people, it is less than seven kilometres long, has a high point just 30 metres (100 feet) above sea level and is covered in bird excrement.

But its location lends it strategic importance for monitoring shipping in the Mozambique Channel.

India plans to invest $550 million dollars (446 million euros) in building the base to help it ensure the safety of its vessels in the southern Indian Ocean. It also says the base will be a resource for other shipping nations.

"Assumption is very close to the Mozambique Channel where much of the international trade is transiting, and not just for India but for other countries as well, and our interest is that our trading vessels are safe," said India's ambassador in Victoria, Ausaf Sayeed.
 
India’s plans on archipelago in Mauritius cause unease
India will extend a runway and build port facilities on the Mauritian archipelago of Agaléga in what security experts say is a significant boost for New Delhi in its tussle with China for military influence in the Indian Ocean.

Agaléga consists of two sparsely populated islands about 600 miles north of Mauritius, a beach holiday destination that also boasts a huge exclusive economic zone of 2.3m sq km, roughly the size of India’s. The exact nature of construction is shrouded in secrecy. However, Abhijit Singh, a former Indian naval officer and head of the Maritime Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation in Delhi, said the plan was to double the length of the runway to 3,000m and build a jetty as well as a transponder system to identify ships as friend or foe. The runway extension would allow both Mauritius and India to land bigger aircraft, which would give Delhi “better maritime awareness” in that part of the Indian Ocean, said Mr Singh.

In written answers to questions from the Financial Times, Pravind Jugnauth, Mauritian prime minister, confirmed that “India would be allowed to utilise the facilities in Agaléga subject to prior notification from the competent authorities of Mauritius”. Afcons, an Indian company, has won the MRs3bn ($87m) contract for the works that would be “fully funded by the government of India on a grant basis” and include “a jetty and an airstrip with associated facilities”, said Mr Jugnauth. “This project is meant to improve the connectivity with mainland Mauritius and also support economic development of Agaléga to the benefit of the people,” he added.

Agalega Islands map The planned construction has however provoked opposition among many of the roughly 300 Agalégans, some of whom fear the islands could be ceded to India. In 1965, before Mauritian independence from the UK, London split another archipelago, the Chagos islands, from Mauritius, forcibly relocating the inhabitants and allowing the US to build a military base on Diego Garcia. Many Agalégans fear they could suffer a similar fate.

“I and all the people of Agaléga are worried about this project because the Mauritian government is hiding many things,” said Arnaud Poulay, an Agaléga resident contacted by phone. “We are against a military base on Agaléga,” he said. “I am very frightened to be from Agaléga right now.” José Moirt, a lawyer and rights activist, said Agaléga residents could be expelled to make way for a base. “There is clearly a policy in place for them to leave the island,” he said. Mr Jugnauth denied any such threat, saying: “Not only will the people of Agaléga be able to continue living on the island, Mauritian sovereignty will not be affected.” Brahma Chellaney, an Indian expert on security issues, said using Agaléga as a “logistics hub” could help Delhi “sustain naval operations in the south-west Indian Ocean”. He described China as “an outside power” seeking a naval presence in “India’s maritime backyard” in what he said was a provocation to India and others. The US, France and Britain, he said, were also “getting anxious about what China is up to”, including its recent construction of a military base in Djibouti on the Red Sea as well as ports in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

FT archive Investing in Mauritius Is Mauritius big enough for China and India When Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, visited Mauritius in 2015, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding to “improve sea and air transport facilities” on Agaléga, including the provision of state of the art telecommunications equipment.

This May, Fazila Jeewa-Daureeawoo, Mauritian deputy prime minister, gave a written response to the country’s national assembly in which she said the agreement between India and Mauritius was “subject to confidentiality and cannot be disclosed in part or in full”. Mauritius, which Mr Modi has referred to as “little India”, has long had close security ties with Delhi. In the 1980s, India helped it establish a coast guard, supplying both ships and personnel. Two-thirds of Mauritius’ 1.4m people are of Indian descent, the majority brought in by Britain as indentured labourers in the 19th century to work on sugar plantations. India and China are involved in a tussle over the Maldives, a chain of 26 atolls in the Indian Ocean where voters last month ousted President Abdulla Yameen, who had drifted away from Delhi’s influence and decisively closer to Beijing.
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Agaléga islanders fear for future due to secret Indian navy base

Inhabitants of the remote Mauritian island of Agaléga fear expulsion, can see parallels with Diego Garcia.


The 300 or so people on the Mauritian island of Agaléga fear for their future as they feel the island is likely to become home to an Indian naval facility.

An investigation by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) reveals how, over the last two years, India has been building a 3km (1.8 miles) airstrip and two large jetties designed for military purposes.

Military analysts confirmed Al Jazeera’s findings, saying the island will likely be used by the Indian navy for maritime intelligence and reconnaissance missions.

Rumours and media reports about the military base first surfaced in 2018 but both Mauritius and India have denied that the construction project is for military purposes and say the infrastructure is only for the benefit of the islanders.

The Agaléens, who mostly live off of fishing and coconut farming, do not believe the official account that the $250m construction project is for them.

“We asked for an airport and hospital, but we didn’t ask for such a big airport,” Franco Poulay, who lives on the island, told Al Jazeera.

“When we see this airport, we are worried.”

His brother, Arnaud Poulay, echoed his remarks.

“We do need a port, on the other hand, we can also see it’s not for our benefit. Today no Agaléens are being trained to work on the new port, so it’s clear that it will be Indian workers who will be employed on the port,” Arnaud added.

“Our kids, our youth who are unemployed, are not being trained.”

Agalega-change_2019-2020.gif


A comparison of satellite pictures shows the increase of activity on the sparsely populated island (Maxar)

Diego Garcia​

The Agaléens fear their fate will echo that of the residents of Diego Garcia, a Mauritian island the country’s former colonial ruler, the UK, leased to the US in 1966.

In 1971, it was turned into a US military base and residents of the island were forcibly resettled elsewhere.


Today, the base is home to 15 separate US military commands and serves surface fleets, submarine units and long-range bomber planes.

Diego Garcia has also been part of a longstanding dispute between the UK and Mauritius. Earlier this year, a United Nations maritime court decided the UK has no sovereignty over the island, but the UK said it would return it only when it no longer serves defence purposes.

Those who lived on Diego Garcia before it was turned into a military base have been fighting for their right to return ever since.

2002-11-02T120000Z_90342192_PBEAHUKOGAA_RTRMADP_3_DIEGO-GARCIA.jpg
Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos Archipelago and site of a major US military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean leased from Britain in 1966 [Reuters]
The people on Agaléga point at what they say are efforts to make life on the island harder, such as making it mandatory for pregnant women to give birth of Mauritius, preventing cement from being brought to the island and the fact that they are currently not allowed to bring cattle to the island.

Those who left the island say their return is made almost impossible.

Those who wish to travel to and from Agaléga take a ship that makes the journey every three months from the main island of Mauritius. However, Agaléens have complained that the voyage has become more problematic.

“Since 2013, we’ve wanted to go back,” 67-year-old Rosalette Jasmin told Al Jazeera.

“My two brothers are there, my nephews and nieces are there too. I want to go see them, [but] every time I go to enquire about tickets, they tell me it is fully booked, try next time,” she said.

“Always, next time, until you get tired of it and discouraged.”

The islanders also point to a government plan to have those who wish to travel to the island pay a hefty government fee for medical emergencies in case something happens to them when they are on the island.

After protests, that plan was shelved, but it remains hard for those wanting to go back to Agaléga to get there.

“It’s so heartbreaking to see your island being exploited by others whereas those of us who were born there, we cannot go to our island just for a short while to breathe in the air where we were born,” Alix Calapin, an Agaléen now living on Mauritius’ main island told Al Jazeera.

Calapin has been wanting to go back to the island for years but has also always been told the ship she wants to travel on has no spots left.

71687921_527496328024074_6659700951156260864_n.jpg
Construction on the northern tip of the northern island has changed it significantly [social media]
According to Samuel Bashfield, a researcher at the National Security College at the Australian National University, there are similarities and differences to the Diego Garcia situation.

“In Agaléga, there is potential for a similar type of event happening,” he told Al Jazeera, though he does not think Mauritius will cede sovereignty of the island to India.

“Both governments have said that they’re not going to deport the people and that the people will still be able to live there.”

However, things will definitely change once the base, from which India almost certainly will launch maritime patrol missions using its aircraft, is finished according to Bashfield.

“Operating a military base has certain ramifications, certain implications,” he said.

“No doubt life will be very different on the island, once this military base is finished. You don’t want people walking through a military base, that’s for sure.”

The Investigative Unit contacted all those involved in this investigation.

The Mauritian government restated its position that “there is no agreement between Mauritius and India to set up a military base in Agaléga.”

It added that by “military base”, it means: “A facility owned and operated by, or for, the military for sheltering of military equipment and personnel, on a permanent basis and for military operations.”

Mauritius also said the government has no intention of displacing people living on the island.

India’s Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs did not respond to our requests for comment.
 

Agaléga islanders fear for future due to secret Indian navy base

Inhabitants of the remote Mauritian island of Agaléga fear expulsion, can see parallels with Diego Garcia.


The 300 or so people on the Mauritian island of Agaléga fear for their future as they feel the island is likely to become home to an Indian naval facility.

An investigation by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) reveals how, over the last two years, India has been building a 3km (1.8 miles) airstrip and two large jetties designed for military purposes.

Military analysts confirmed Al Jazeera’s findings, saying the island will likely be used by the Indian navy for maritime intelligence and reconnaissance missions.

Rumours and media reports about the military base first surfaced in 2018 but both Mauritius and India have denied that the construction project is for military purposes and say the infrastructure is only for the benefit of the islanders.

The Agaléens, who mostly live off of fishing and coconut farming, do not believe the official account that the $250m construction project is for them.

“We asked for an airport and hospital, but we didn’t ask for such a big airport,” Franco Poulay, who lives on the island, told Al Jazeera.

“When we see this airport, we are worried.”

His brother, Arnaud Poulay, echoed his remarks.

“We do need a port, on the other hand, we can also see it’s not for our benefit. Today no Agaléens are being trained to work on the new port, so it’s clear that it will be Indian workers who will be employed on the port,” Arnaud added.

“Our kids, our youth who are unemployed, are not being trained.”

Agalega-change_2019-2020.gif


A comparison of satellite pictures shows the increase of activity on the sparsely populated island (Maxar)

Diego Garcia​

The Agaléens fear their fate will echo that of the residents of Diego Garcia, a Mauritian island the country’s former colonial ruler, the UK, leased to the US in 1966.

In 1971, it was turned into a US military base and residents of the island were forcibly resettled elsewhere.


Today, the base is home to 15 separate US military commands and serves surface fleets, submarine units and long-range bomber planes.

Diego Garcia has also been part of a longstanding dispute between the UK and Mauritius. Earlier this year, a United Nations maritime court decided the UK has no sovereignty over the island, but the UK said it would return it only when it no longer serves defence purposes.

Those who lived on Diego Garcia before it was turned into a military base have been fighting for their right to return ever since.

2002-11-02T120000Z_90342192_PBEAHUKOGAA_RTRMADP_3_DIEGO-GARCIA.jpg
Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos Archipelago and site of a major US military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean leased from Britain in 1966 [Reuters]
The people on Agaléga point at what they say are efforts to make life on the island harder, such as making it mandatory for pregnant women to give birth of Mauritius, preventing cement from being brought to the island and the fact that they are currently not allowed to bring cattle to the island.

Those who left the island say their return is made almost impossible.

Those who wish to travel to and from Agaléga take a ship that makes the journey every three months from the main island of Mauritius. However, Agaléens have complained that the voyage has become more problematic.

“Since 2013, we’ve wanted to go back,” 67-year-old Rosalette Jasmin told Al Jazeera.

“My two brothers are there, my nephews and nieces are there too. I want to go see them, [but] every time I go to enquire about tickets, they tell me it is fully booked, try next time,” she said.

“Always, next time, until you get tired of it and discouraged.”

The islanders also point to a government plan to have those who wish to travel to the island pay a hefty government fee for medical emergencies in case something happens to them when they are on the island.

After protests, that plan was shelved, but it remains hard for those wanting to go back to Agaléga to get there.

“It’s so heartbreaking to see your island being exploited by others whereas those of us who were born there, we cannot go to our island just for a short while to breathe in the air where we were born,” Alix Calapin, an Agaléen now living on Mauritius’ main island told Al Jazeera.

Calapin has been wanting to go back to the island for years but has also always been told the ship she wants to travel on has no spots left.

71687921_527496328024074_6659700951156260864_n.jpg
Construction on the northern tip of the northern island has changed it significantly [social media]
According to Samuel Bashfield, a researcher at the National Security College at the Australian National University, there are similarities and differences to the Diego Garcia situation.

“In Agaléga, there is potential for a similar type of event happening,” he told Al Jazeera, though he does not think Mauritius will cede sovereignty of the island to India.

“Both governments have said that they’re not going to deport the people and that the people will still be able to live there.”

However, things will definitely change once the base, from which India almost certainly will launch maritime patrol missions using its aircraft, is finished according to Bashfield.

“Operating a military base has certain ramifications, certain implications,” he said.

“No doubt life will be very different on the island, once this military base is finished. You don’t want people walking through a military base, that’s for sure.”

The Investigative Unit contacted all those involved in this investigation.

The Mauritian government restated its position that “there is no agreement between Mauritius and India to set up a military base in Agaléga.”

It added that by “military base”, it means: “A facility owned and operated by, or for, the military for sheltering of military equipment and personnel, on a permanent basis and for military operations.”

Mauritius also said the government has no intention of displacing people living on the island.

India’s Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs did not respond to our requests for comment.
al-jazeera enuf said, the muslim propaganda channel. Take every news from them with a mountain of salt.
 
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al-jazeera enuf said, the muslim propaganda channel. Take every news from them with a mountain of salt.
Its a known development for years. They are correct in what they are reporting but nothing exclusive here.