CNN: UN court ruling puts future of strategic US military base Diego Garcia into question
(CNN)The UK must return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius "as rapidly as possible," the United Nations' highest court ruled Monday, branding its occupation of the Indian Ocean archipelago illegal.
The islands, which are home to US military base Diego Garcia, were separated from the former British territory of Mauritius during decolonization in 1968. The international Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that act was illegal under international law.
For years, the US base has been vital to the military, serving as a landing spot for bombers that fly missions across Asia, including over the South China Sea. The UN ruling raises questions about its future.
The decision by the ICJ is merely advisory. The matter of who holds sovereignty over the Islands, located more than 2,000 miles off the east coast of Africa, will now be debated by the United Nations General Assembly -- which referred the case to the ICJ despite London's protests.
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WNU Editor: This international Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling is only advisory. The next step is to have this debated at the United Nations General Assembly, where I suspect that any decision is going to take a long time to be made. So for the moment, the U.S. military base at Diego Garcia is going no where.
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