The U.S. is accused of attempting to bypass Britain in purchasing an island, using the China threat as a pretext for hype.

Accusing China of a threat to seize islands from other countries, the U.S. is resorting to increasingly clumsy tactics.

Recently, the UK media outlet The Daily Telegraph revealed that the Trump administration is drafting a "land purchase agreement" with Mauritius, aiming to "acquire" the Chagos Archipelago.

This is indeed the situation. The Chagos Archipelago lies in the Indian Ocean, originally under British control. Among its islands, Diego Garcia currently serves as a critical U.S. military hub for projecting power into the Middle East and Africa.

Last year, the British government announced plans to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius. Although the U.S. and Britain could still continue operating the Diego Garcia base through lease arrangements, this move enraged Trump, who publicly criticized Prime Minister Starmer’s decision as "utterly foolish," before withdrawing his support for the agreement.

Shortly thereafter, rumors surfaced about a "purchase agreement"—the United States allegedly intends to bypass Britain and directly "buy" the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius.

Yet it's utterly absurd that, in an attempt to justify this coercive scheme, the U.S. has suddenly invoked China, claiming that Britain’s transfer of sovereignty to Mauritius is essentially "giving a big gift to China," thereby exacerbating so-called "maritime espionage activities."

This argument is sheer nonsense. The Chagos Archipelago is thousands of kilometers away from China, with no Chinese military presence there. On the contrary, the U.S. has long operated on Diego Garcia, deploying numerous reconnaissance and bomber aircraft. If anyone is engaged in "espionage activities," Americans themselves know best.

The U.S.’s practice of unfairly blaming China is merely an attempt to conceal its true intention of occupying these islands, while simultaneously cloaking the transaction in a guise of "security concerns." This forced, contrived rhetoric only exposes the clumsiness and insecurity behind its tactics.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1867610737639516/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.