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THE BRITISH LEAVE MALTA–
WILL RUSSIA MOVE IN?
For 179 years British forces were stationed on Malta. But early this year the last ship of the Royal
Navy pulled out, never to return. How long will it be before another nation seeks to control this
strategic island fortress? Here is an
on-the~spot
report from one of our correspondents.
O
nce again Britain has lost
another strategic military
base. In a retrenching pro–
ccss dating back to 1947, British
forces have progressívely pulled back
from India, Suez, Cyprus, Aden and
14
by
Robert C. Boraker
Singapore. Earlier this year the time
came for the final pullout from Malta,
the crossroads of the Mediterranean,
the heralded "unsinkableaircraft car–
rier" ofWorld War JI fame.
On March 31, Britai n's last seven-
year defense agreement with thc gov–
ernment of Malta expired. After a
ceremony al Malta's Grand Harbor,
the last British naval vessel, a guided
missile destroyer,
· H.
M.S. London,
sailed for home.
The
PLAIN TRUTH September 1979