GMR row: India freezes aid to Maldives, ties under stress

Yusuf

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A case of Ab pacchtaey kya hot jab chidiya chug gayi khet.

India had to intervene when the Islamists staged a coup. India had to back the former president.

India may well freeze the aid but it will not have any desired effect as China will fill up the gap. India in deep trouble with a strategicly placed Maldives falling to Pro China Nutjobs.

India had to do what it did earlier with Mamoon Abdul Gayoom when india intervened and helped put down the coup.

I think Indian agencies will have to work hard to rig the next elections and make sure the stupid fanatics don't come to power. For the moment, india should put some pressure both economically and also dispatch a couple of naval ships to that region.

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SINGAPORE/MALE/NEW DELHI: In a move to put pressure on Male, India has frozen aid to Maldives as its government on Monday decided to take control of the international airport despite a Singapore court staying the suspension of the contract given to India's GMR-led consortium.

The high court of Singapore suspended the Maldives government's decision last week to terminate the $500 million contract, the single largest Indian FDI in the Maldives, awarded to the consortium for developing the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport at Male.

"High court of Singapore today (Monday) granted injunctive relief (stayed) against the applicability and operations of (contract termination) letter issued by the ministry of finance and treasury (MoFT), government of Maldives," GMR said in a statement.

"The high court upon hearing both the parties was pleased to grant this stay in favour of GMIAL (consortium of GMR-MAHB)."

However, the arbitration process will continue on the sidelines, said a company official.

The Singapore high court is acting as an arbitrator in the issue between the GMR-backed consortium GMIAL and the Maldives government. Under the contract, the law of either Singapore or Britain would apply in case of differences between parties.

The Maldives government, however, chose to defy the order. "We will continue the airport takeover and Inshallah next Saturday onwards MACL (state-controlled Maldives Airport Company Ltd) will be running the airport," Defence minister and acting transport minister Mohamed Nazim told reporters in Male on Monday.

Upset at the Maldives government's attitude, India has put on hold $25-million budgetary commitment to Male, said reliable sources on Monday.

Bilateral ties will be affected, said the sources.

The Indian government is also studying the court order and its implications, said the sources.

The Maldives government Wednesday had defended its decision to terminate the GMR contract, saying the deal was dogged by "legal, technical and economic issues". However, in the wake of reaction by the Maldives government Monday, it seems legal issues were only the fig leaf behind which President Mohamed Waheed was hiding, the sources said.

In New Delhi's assessment, there are many vested interests at work, a veiled allusion to the increasing clout of a pro-China clique that is said to be close to the powers-that-be in Male and has influenced the decision to scrap the GMR contract.

What is more distressing to India, the sources added, is the way a commercial dispute has been used by some fringe elements and political parties in the Maldives to whip up anti-India sentiments.

"It has become an election issue and it has ceased to be a purely commercial matter," said the sources.

Elections are scheduled to be held in the Maldives late next year, but there are indications that they could be held as early as next year. GMIAL, which is a consortium of GMR and Malaysian airports operator MAHB, had won the right to operate and modernise Ibrahim Nasir International Airport in a bidding conducted by IFC, an arm of the World Bank.

The Maldivian cabinet had directed GMIAL to hand over the airport within seven days to MACL. It had also asked GMR to vacate and remove all property from the airport within 30 days.

According to GMR, both MACL and the MoFT, under the concession agreement, "are not allowed to interfere with the rights of the Investor (GMR-MAHB consortium)".

"With this (judgment), GMIAL shall continue to operate the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport as usual as per the provisions of the concession agreement," GMR said.


GMR row: India freezes aid to Maldives, ties under stress - The Times of India on Mobile
 

amoy

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The Singapore high court is acting as an arbitrator in the issue between the GMR-backed consortium GMIAL and the Maldives government. Under the contract, the law of either Singapore or Britain would apply in case of differences between parties.
Surprising indeed. Why did a govmt of a sovereign state agree to a contract with a third-party arbitration (of another state) in the first place??
 

Singh

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As per one wonk : If Maldives refuses to abide by the Singapore court's ruling, then GMR can possibly move to get Maldivian assets seized in Singapore. And perhaps in India too ?
 

Yusuf

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As per one wonk : If Maldives refuses to abide by the Singapore court's ruling, then GMR can possibly move to get Maldivian assets seized in Singapore. And perhaps in India too ?
What assets can it possibly have?
 

Singh

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@Yusuf I don't think China is even involved at the moment. This is a GMR (+ that Malaysian company) issue. Perhaps, Maldivians want more bribes ? or want to reverse whatever Naheed did to win more votes ?
 
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spikey360

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Send a few battleships and cut off Maldives sea trade routes. They'll get the message on who's boss around these regions.
 

Yusuf

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@Yusuf I don't think China is even involved at the moment. This is a GMR (+ that Malaysian company) issue. Perhaps, Maldivians want more bribes ? or want to reverse whatever Naheed did to win more votes ?
No it's not about just deal. India is stopping aid, putting pressure. China will just step in and ease any pressure that India applies especially financial pressure.
 
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pmaitra

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Let India get Malaysia on the side diplomatically, create a naval blockade, and threaten to seize the airport. My bets are PRC will stay out of this mess, and Maldives will fall back in line.
 

Singh

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Let India get Malaysia on the side diplomatically, create a naval blockade, and threaten to seize the airport. My bets are PRC will stay out of this mess, and Maldives will fall back in line.
Way too extreme.
 

Yusuf

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Let India get Malaysia on the side diplomatically, create a naval blockade, and threaten to seize the airport. My bets are PRC will stay out of this mess, and Maldives will fall back in line.
The Nutjob govt there has to go. India should play this well. We have to funnel in money to stage protests against them, make sure they lose the elections. And yes, put a couple of out boats there just in case they crack down. Covert and overt op.
 

pmaitra

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Way too extreme.
You think so? I also considered sending our destroyers and pounding the islands into submission, but I thought I'd recommend a graduated response.

After reading the suggestion by @Yusuf, I think that is a better option (below).

The Nutjob govt there has to go. India should play this well. We have to funnel in money to stage protests against them, make sure they lose the elections. And yes, put a couple of out boats there just in case they crack down. Covert and overt op.
 
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Singh

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Such a response will definitely make Maldives and other territories in the region wary of India.
 

pmaitra

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Such a response will definitely make Maldives and other territories in the region wary of India.
Frankly, do we have a better choice? Everybody (SL, BD, Nepal) hates India, despite India's softy softy approach towards these countries. If you are more powerful, other countries will be wary of you, no matter how friendly you are.

I am not saying bomb the hell out of Maldives, but sooner or later, if you want to be taken seriously, you'll have to pick the skinniest kid in the class and beat him up so badly that the other boys think twice before picking on you. Russia did the same with Georgia, which forced not only Poland, but even the US to take Russia seriously.

India, IMHO, needs to focus on a Blue Water Navy and should start policing the littoral states in the Indian Ocean.

Another Island that will need a cane-whacking from India very soon is Fiji.
 

Yusuf

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Such a response will definitely make Maldives and other territories in the region wary of India.
India erred by sitting back and doing nothing with the ex president repeatedly sending pleas for help to India.
We cannot have an "Islamist" govt there which is a ChiPak stooge.
 

Yusuf

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@pmaitra
Fiji? :facepalm:

It's too far for strategic importance. Yes it has ethnic Indian population there but bombing Fiji? :facepalm:
 
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pmaitra

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Fiji? :facepalm:

It's too far for strategic importance. Yes it has ethnic Indian population there but bombing Fiji? :facepalm:
I would definitely chalk up a plan for making it an Indian territory someday. You never know, it could serve as a staging ground against - (wait for it) - UraniumLand.
 
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Yusuf

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I would definitely chalk up a plan for making it an Indian territory someday. You never know, it could serve as a staging ground against - (wait for it) - UraniumLand.
:facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:
 

pmaitra

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Agar hum shuru se hi action lete, to aaj woh Bainimarama, mara hua hota.

India has this habit of letting go of whatever little leverage it has with countries. India actually had much better power projection during Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi's time.

Edit: Anyway, let's get back to Maldives.
 

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