Revision as of 18:01, 12 January 2018

Why the Maldives matter

December 26, 2017: The Times of India

1) Location, location location. The Maldives's location on the Indian Ocean makes it a nation of concern to India+ especially as regional rival China is trying to expand its sphere of influence in those waters. The Maldives is located near important sea routes in the Indian Ocean - close to the Gulf of Aden and the Straits of Malacca. Almost all main trade routes to the broader region pass by the Maldives; most of the energy supplies from the Middle East are transported along these routes.

2) As it is, the Maldives has signed a Free Trade Agreement with Beijing, without taking the country's opposition, or even its citizenry, into confidence. This worries the mandarins in South Block as well as the opposition in the Maldives.

3) Adding to that worry is the fact that the archipelago already owes almost 70% of its debt to China, raising fears it will be completely under Beijing's thumb, much like Pakistan is.

4) If that happens, India fears being encircled by Chinese-influenced vassals. As it is, Sri Lanka's decision to hand over the Hambantota port to China on a 99-year lease has caused some consternation in Indian diplomatic circles.

5) The Maldives's Abdulla Yameen government hasn't done much to inspire confidence in India, as it has shown scant regard for India's security-related concerns, despite the country's professed 'India First' policy.

2017

Maldives signs Free Trade Agreement with China

Maldives ‘flouts rules’, quietly inks trade deal with China, December 1, 2017: The Times of India

Setting off fresh concerns over China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives government has signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Beijing without taking the country’s opposition, or even the people, into confidence.

According to the Maldivesopposition, the archipelago already owes almost 70% of its debt to China.

Maldives remains the only country in the region which PM Narendra Modi is yet to visit. Despite its stated India First policy formulation, the Abdulla Yameen government has shown scant regard for India’s security-related concerns.

“We are also deeply concerned that further entrenchment of thecountry into a Chinesedebttrap will resultin additional stress on strategic national assets and increasing instability in Indian Ocean region,” said the main opposition party, MDP’s statement.

According to the opposition, on November 29, the Speaker of parliament called for an emergency sitting, to pass the FTA with China. While the negotiations had been completed in September, Yameen signed the document. The agreement was apparently sent to the parliamentary oversight committeeon national security affairs within 3 minutes of submission tothefloor.

“The committee vetting the agreement took less than 10 minutes. The committee was conducted against parliamentary procedures... with deliberations closedoff for the public and to the media... MPs were not given access to the document... The government allowed for lessthan 1hour for the parliamentary process to approve the 1000+ page document,” saidthestatement.

FTA with China erodes Maldives’ sovereignty

Sachin Parashar, ‘FTA with China erodes sovereignty of Maldives’, December 4, 2017: The Times of India

With Maldives and China entering into a Free Trade Agreement, the nitty-gritty of which is yet to be made public, there’s mounting concernthat thestrategically-located archipelago could be the next country to walk into a Beijing debt trap, a situation that has serious strategic ramifications for India.

In an exclusive interaction with TOI, former Maldivian president and leader of main opposition party MDP Mohamed Nasheed slammed the agreement and said it wasn’t just against Maldivian national interest but would also upset “traditional allies’’ of the country, causing further tension in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

India and the US, the two “democratic stalwarts” in the Indo-Pacific, have repeatedly called for responsible debt financing practices as they have looked to undercut China’s policy to provide easy access to capital abroad in the name of improving connectivity. With the trade balance already favouring China, there’s a fear that the FTA will further increase the deficit.

Developments in Maldives since the ouster of Nasheed in 2012 have worried India as the islands have been roiled by internal power plays and the growing shadow of China’s economic and military presence in the IOR along with signs that radical influences are taking root in the nation where a large majority practices Sunni Islam.

“This disgraceful agreement — rushed through parliament in under an hour, whileopposition MPswere conveniently summoned to appear in court — is not in the Maldivian national interest,” said Nasheed, who lives in exile in London.

“Itwilldeepen thedebttrap to China. Already more than 70% of our foreign debt is owed to Beijing, which givesBeijing huge leverage over us, undermining Maldivian sovereignty and independence,” he added. Recent examples such as Sri Lanka’s decision to allow Chinese control of Hambantota port as part of a debt swap have sharpened India’s concerns too.

The Maldivian opposition believes India has continued to mollycoddletheAbdulla Yameen government in thefond hope that itwill, even as it encourages Chinese investment, do nothing to hurt India’s security interest. In August, theMaldives, which PMNarendra Modi has avoided visiting so far, was said to have allowed three Chinese warships to dock at the Male harbour.

Jan: Maldives tries to mend ties, says ‘India First’

Maldives tries to mend ties, says ‘India First’, January 12, 2018: The Times of India

India and the Maldives pressed the reset button in ties with the latter’s foreign minister Mohamed Asim briefing his counterpart Sushma Swaraj and PM Narendra Modi about Male’s position on a host of issues that seemed to be plaguing the bilateral relationship in recent times.

Asim, who visited India also as President Abdulla Yameen’s special envoy, reiterated Male’s ‘India First’ policy and, according to a statement issued by India, emphasised that Maldives attached the highest priority to its ties with India.

According to official sources here, Asim did not just assure India that Male will do nothing to jeopardise India’s security interests but also said in his meetings with both Modi and Swaraj that the Maldives would expedite work on India’s developmental projects which the two countries had announced during Yameen’s visit to India. Progress on these projects had been patchy until now.

Discussions in Asim’s meetings with Modi and Swaraj centred around strengthening of the development partnership between India and Maldives and enhancing defence and security cooperation, said the Indian government.

Asim also invited Modi to Maldives, the only Saarc country which the PM has avoided visiting until now. Modi agreed to visit Maldives “at a suitable time’’ as he affirmed that India would always remain a reliable and close neighbour of Male. Asim is also said to have discussed with his Indian counterpart Maldives’ recent FTA with China. Male continues to maintain that it would soon like to have a similar agreement with India.

“Swaraj met Mohamed Asim, foreign minister and special envoy of the President of Maldives. Both had productive discussions to strengthen bilateral relationship keeping in mind ‘India First’ policy of Maldives and our policy of ‘Neighbourhood first’,” the ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

“External affairs minister (Swaraj) conveyed our commitment to achieving the full potential of our relationship in line with India’s Neighbourhood First policy,’’ an MEA statement said.

Foreign secretary S Jaishankar alsio paid a “courtesy call’’ on Asim.

Highlighting President Yameen’s ‘India First’ policy, Asim reiterated the importance of further strengthening the historical ties between the two countries, said Male in a statement. “He further expressed gratitude to the government of India for their valuable contribution towards the socio-economic development of the Maldives. Prime Minister Modi assured that the Maldives has, and will always remain, a close friend of India. Further, the Prime Minister assured that India would extend its support in all areas of cooperation.’’ it said.