Insight: Trump’s words on UK-Mauritius deal full of arrogance, colonialism

The British government has decided to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, but U.S. President Donald Trump attacked the decision, saying the UK giving away the land is “an act of GREAT STUPIDITY”. The words show Trump is arrogant, with his mind full of out-dated colonialism.

Photo/AP

Both UK and Mauritius are sovereign countries, and they have their freedom to sign bilateral agreements. By making the insensible remarks, Trump is arrogantly interfering in the internal affairs of the two countries. As an outsider lack of regional historic knowledge, Trump doesn’t know well the past, the present and the future of the Chagos Islands.

Trump ignored that the Chagos Islands doesn’t belong to the UK or the US, and the fact that the UK has occupied the island for some two hundred years is an act of stealing. The UK and US military presence on the Mauritian island is a typical legacy of the Western colonialism, for thousands of aboriginals were driven away from their homeland to give way to the US-UK military base, which is now a security threat to the Indian Ocean.

The UK and US were the guilty countries from a historic perspective, and they should feel indebted over what they had done to the aboriginals in Mauritius, as well as in Africa, South & Southeast Asia and Latin America. Although Downing Street has shown a sensible reflection over history, the White House still clings to colonial practices in the 19th century.

Trump’s remarks also showed the inconsistency of the US government in policy making and implementing. The UK and Mauritius signed a deal in May to give Mauritius sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, and the U.S. government welcomed the agreement back then. By attacking the deal now, Trump is telling the world that what the US government said does not count and can never be taken seriously.

Writing by Wang Shixue (The article represents the author's personal view and does not necessarily reflect the stance of Mekong News Network, YICC.)