Maldives Follow

A right wing coup deposed the first democratically elected president of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean last week.

The Chagos Archipelago is a collection of over 60 tropical islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The islands are a British overseas territory, known collectively as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). To get there, you can either sail 500 kilometres south from the Maldives, 1,600 kilometres east from the Seychelles, or join the US navy and get posted to their military base, situated on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain.

President Gayoom is the longest serving dictator in Asia having ruled the state for 27 years.