bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Mauritius inaugurated on Thursday an Indian-financed air strip and jetty on the island of Agalega, but denied the remote islet would be used for military purposes.
An investigation by news broadcaster Al Jazeera in 2021 said India was building a secret naval base on Agalega, much to the chagrin of its approximately 300 inhabitants.
“There has never been a project to turn Agalega into a military base,” Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said.
“I strongly deplore and condemn the India-bashing campaign fomented by some people in Mauritius and abroad.”


The three kilometre (1.9-mile) air strip and jetty were agreed upon during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2015 visit to Mauritius and cost 8.8 billion Mauritian rupees (US$192 million).
Jugnauth said the infrastructures would help the Indian Ocean island modernise and strengthen its security.
“They will strengthen the fight against drugs, human trafficking and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and will enable emergency response,” he said, calling it a dream that had turned into reality.
An archipelago of four islands, Mauritius also includes Saint-Brandon and Rodrigues, which has had an autonomous status since 2001.
India steps up maritime role in Asia-Pacific as US, China conduct exercises
The report of a naval base in Agalega raised fears of a repeat of the 1965 decision by Britain to separate the Chagos Islands from Mauritius and set up a joint military base with the United States on Diego Garcia, the largest of the isles.
The decades-old move has sparked protests by Chagossians, who accuse Britain of carrying out an “illegal occupation” and barring them from their homeland.
Britain insists the islands belong to London and has renewed a lease agreement with the United States to use Diego Garcia until 2036.
Diego Garcia’s air and sea bases played a strategic role during the Cold War and during the war in Afghanistan.


‘More dangerous than Covid’: outrage over Indian corporate leader’s call for 7-day work week

Indian police arrest 44 men in shocking gang rape of 18-year-old Dalit athlete

Beyond US-China tussles, geopolitics will be shaped by India, Russia

Tibet’s quake is a seismic warning to China and India over their mega dam ambitions

India

Mauritius launches India-funded air strip on Agalega, denies it will be used as military base

Aerial view of the Agalega Islands, two islands in the Indian Ocean, governed by Mauritius. Photo: Shutterstock

‘No role’ for China in policing Pacific islands, Australian minister says

Christmas Island, Kiribati. Photo: Shutterstock

Australia’s Pacific Minister Pat Conroy (left), seen with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, says that China has ‘no role’ in policing the Pacific islands. Photo: EPA-EFE

Norwegian Dawn cruise ship allowed to dock in Mauritius after tests show no cholera aboard

The Norwegian Dawn cruise ship. File photo: Reuters

The Norwegian Dawn. File photo: The Boston Herald via AP

Is cinema India’s new political battleground? Modi-backed Article 370 film stirs Kashmiri outrage

Bollywood actress Yami Gautam with her husband and director Aditya Dhar attend the trailer launch of their Hindi-language film “Article 370” in Mumbai on February 8. Photo: AFP

People pose for photographs with a cutout portrait of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a market in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, on December 11, 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE

Bangladeshis launch ‘India Out’ campaign over New Delhi’s alleged meddling to keep Hasina in power

Gono Odhikar Parishad, a new opposition party in Bangladesh, leading a rally in Dhaka in support of the ongoing ‘India Out’ campaign, on February 16. Photo: Golam Quddus

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina after a signing of agreements in New Delhi on April 8, 2017. Photo: AP

News

Asia

South Asia

World

Africa

An investigation by news broadcaster Al Jazeera in 2021 said India was building a secret naval base on Agalega, much to the chagrin of its 300 inhabitants
The report of a base raised fears of a repeat of the 1965 decision by the UK to separate the Chagos Islands from Mauritius and set up a military base with the US


An investigation by news broadcaster Al Jazeera in 2021 said India was building a secret naval base on Agalega, much to the chagrin of its approximately 300 inhabitants.


Narendra Modi

Diplomacy

Defence

Mauritius