America First faces an immediate challenge. If President-elect Donald Trump plays his cards adroitly, he can prevent the most strategically important U.S. base in the Indo-Pacific region from falling under the shadow of China.
The base is on the atoll of Diego Garcia, part of the British Indian Ocean territory. Halfway between Africa and Indonesia, it lies within reach of four of the seven global choke points that funnel maritime traffic: the Bab-el-Mandeb, the Straits of Hormuz, the Malacca Straits, and the Cape of Good Hope. Not for nothing is it known as the Malta of the Indian Ocean.
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