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The India-Maldives relationship had caught a cold, but it is China that is prescribing the medicine for the island nation. Cocking a snook at India's medical diplomacy in Maldives, the People's Liberation Army Navy's hospital ship 'Peace Ark' has been anchored from Saturday off the coast of Male as part of its 'Mission Harmony 2013' tour of eight Asian countries, including India.
The 10,000-tonne ultra-modern Chinese vessel is the largest ever hospital ship with 300 beds and eight operation theatres. The ship is said to be too big to be docked at Male, and hence is anchored some distance away. For the first time, China is intruding into the medical aid sector in which the Indian government has so far had no competition.
Indian medical diplomacy in the Maldives began in 1986, when Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi promised to build a medical complex in Male. After nine years, PV Narasimha Rao formally inaugurated a 200-bed hospital named the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH). It is operated by the Maldivian government, but with the help of substantial Indian funds. Eighteen years on, India's most visible symbol of bilateral assistance has become worse for wear, and is overstrained under an increasing patient load and decrepit infrastructure.
In 2010, the Maldives government cancelled a contract with Apollo hospitals to take over the management of IGMH, after the latter asked for more financial resources. During Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the Maldives for the SAARC summit in November 2011, India committed Rs 37.24 crore, which was reiterated when the new Maldivian president Mohamed Waheed visited India in May 2012. However, an Indian tender issued last year for the renovation of IGMH was cancelled, since it attracted only a single applicant.
In the meantime, India's relations with the Waheed administration deteriorated after the Maldives, on November 28, 2012, unilaterally cancelled Indian conglomerate GMR Group's contract to operate and develop the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport in Male. India postponed sending the last tranche of medical aid, as well as put some development projects on hold until the new government takes over after the September 7 presidential elections.
However, in October 2012, Defence Minister A K Antony inaugurated a 25-bed military hospital, called Senahiya, built with Indian assistance. Last month, a six-member team of Indian army doctors travelled to remote Maldivian islands and set up medical camps. Following an SOS from the Maldivian government, India also urgently rushed an anaesthetist to Senahiya. But like most government-run Indian medical facilities, IGMH suffered from various maladies like rodent infestation and severe shortage of trained staff. Maldives National Defence Force, meanwhile, stated that China's 'Peace Ark' will provide better medical facilities and services than IGMH. Ironically, it will be at IGMH and Senahiya that the Chinese army's medical staff will be treating patients, while several of its doctors will fly to nine islands scattered across the Indian Ocean.
New Delhi considers the Indian Ocean as its strategic backyard and is worried about the escalating spread of the Chinese navy in the region. China's footprint has increased steadily in the Maldives. It established an embassy in 2011. Chinese tourists account for more than one-fourth of all foreign travellers. Defence contacts between Maldives and China have increased, fuelling Indian concerns about Chinese intentions, since Maldives straddles important sea-lanes on the Indian Ocean.
Bitter pill for India as Dr Dragon sails in - The New Indian Express
The 10,000-tonne ultra-modern Chinese vessel is the largest ever hospital ship with 300 beds and eight operation theatres. The ship is said to be too big to be docked at Male, and hence is anchored some distance away. For the first time, China is intruding into the medical aid sector in which the Indian government has so far had no competition.
Indian medical diplomacy in the Maldives began in 1986, when Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi promised to build a medical complex in Male. After nine years, PV Narasimha Rao formally inaugurated a 200-bed hospital named the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH). It is operated by the Maldivian government, but with the help of substantial Indian funds. Eighteen years on, India's most visible symbol of bilateral assistance has become worse for wear, and is overstrained under an increasing patient load and decrepit infrastructure.
In 2010, the Maldives government cancelled a contract with Apollo hospitals to take over the management of IGMH, after the latter asked for more financial resources. During Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the Maldives for the SAARC summit in November 2011, India committed Rs 37.24 crore, which was reiterated when the new Maldivian president Mohamed Waheed visited India in May 2012. However, an Indian tender issued last year for the renovation of IGMH was cancelled, since it attracted only a single applicant.
In the meantime, India's relations with the Waheed administration deteriorated after the Maldives, on November 28, 2012, unilaterally cancelled Indian conglomerate GMR Group's contract to operate and develop the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport in Male. India postponed sending the last tranche of medical aid, as well as put some development projects on hold until the new government takes over after the September 7 presidential elections.
However, in October 2012, Defence Minister A K Antony inaugurated a 25-bed military hospital, called Senahiya, built with Indian assistance. Last month, a six-member team of Indian army doctors travelled to remote Maldivian islands and set up medical camps. Following an SOS from the Maldivian government, India also urgently rushed an anaesthetist to Senahiya. But like most government-run Indian medical facilities, IGMH suffered from various maladies like rodent infestation and severe shortage of trained staff. Maldives National Defence Force, meanwhile, stated that China's 'Peace Ark' will provide better medical facilities and services than IGMH. Ironically, it will be at IGMH and Senahiya that the Chinese army's medical staff will be treating patients, while several of its doctors will fly to nine islands scattered across the Indian Ocean.
New Delhi considers the Indian Ocean as its strategic backyard and is worried about the escalating spread of the Chinese navy in the region. China's footprint has increased steadily in the Maldives. It established an embassy in 2011. Chinese tourists account for more than one-fourth of all foreign travellers. Defence contacts between Maldives and China have increased, fuelling Indian concerns about Chinese intentions, since Maldives straddles important sea-lanes on the Indian Ocean.
Bitter pill for India as Dr Dragon sails in - The New Indian Express