INDIA - MALDIVES Relations

sorcerer

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China suggests to work with India in Maldives after poll shocker
China has reached out to India after pro-Beijing Abdulla Yameen lost in Maldives by suggesting that India and China may work jointly in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation :rofl::rofl:and even went on to suggest that the incumbent president lost due to his high-handed policies.

State-run Global Times has published a :rofl:series of articles since Monday on Maldives poll results,:rofl: which according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry has confused Beijing.

In one of the articles titled ‘China, India should cooperate in Maldives’, the Global Times suggested that India and China can do joint projects in Maldives and Indian companies can utilise Chinese facilities in Maldives. :laugh:

“Some Western media outlets say Solih's victory deals a potential blow to China and he will likely adopt an anti-China stance. However, mainly domestic political factors were behind the election results. For instance, with Opposition leaders and judges arrested by the Yameen government, the Opposition party got united amid public concerns about damage to democracy and the rule of law,” the article claimed in what would indicate that Beijing is trying to distance itself from Yameen.

Reaching out to India the article suggested, “In fact, it shouldn't be a one-or-the-other game for China and India in the Maldives. China invests in the Maldives as it is needed by the nation, a normal cooperative practice between two countries. :laugh:China neither has the intention nor the need to shut out India on the archipelago…In fact, the building of infrastructure by China in the Maldives has created favourable conditions for the business and personnel of Indian companies on the island country. :laugh:China and India can actually help boost Maldives' development by using their own strengths.”

“Beijing has come up with a constructive "two-plus-one" mechanism -- China and India plus another South Asian country:pound: -- as a demonstration of sincerity. The mechanism can not only enhance mutual trust between China and India, but prevent other South Asian countries from being caught in between. :pound:This aims to harmonize relations between countries and serves the interest of all relevant parties, and is worth a careful consideration by New Delhi. :pound:Perhaps the two powers can have a try in the Maldives first,” the state-run newspaper further suggested.


Md Nasheed, former Maldives President and close ally of President Ibu Solih, has declared to review all the agreements that Maldives had signed with China under Yameen's five-year rule between 2013-2018, hours after his MDP won the presidential polls.

Maldives, a small economy relying heavily on tourism, is one of the most at-risk countries of any involved with the BRI to the distress of debt, said the Center for Global Development, a Washington DC-based think-tank tracking the initiative.

Chinese loans for projects already account for around 70% of the Maldives’ national debt. In 2014, China began to develop major infrastructure projects. One is a bridge linking the capital Male to a nearby island. The other is an expansion of the capital’s airport, a project awarded to a Chinese company in 2014.

The Maldives has also leased an uninhabited island (Feydhoo Finolhu) to a Chinese enterprise for 50 years at a price of around $4 million, with plans to develop infrastructure for tourism. China is also constructing a 25-storey apartment complex and hospital in the Maldives.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...s-after-poll-shocker/articleshow/65999043.cms


China invests in the Maldives as it is needed by the nation,
The nation meaning china in this context.

"two-plus-one" mechanism -- China and India plus another South Asian country:pound:
Awwwwww..the chinese ploy of bringing paki to the table for "harmonizing relationships "
What a smooth bloody :bs: by the chinese ..
if chinese wants to harmonize relationship, they should stop supporting terror proxies in pakistan.

pakis dont have the money nor the resource or expertise to build own dams or construct own roads or own power stations..
paki is the EXTRA BAGGAGE china is forced to carry everywhere like an over prized whore gotten in the bidding with USA.
 

aghamarshana

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Maldives' Speaker of Parliament & Former President Mohamed Nasheed at India Ideas Conclave 2020 in Gujarat: We've another superpower coming to the Indian Ocean - China. Unfortunately, the manner in which this superpower is treating the Indian Ocean islands is very very different.


Maldives' Speaker of Parliament and Former President Mohamed Nasheed in Gujarat: We do not see how India's actions have ever been a threat to the Maldives or any of its neighbours. India has always respected our sovereignty and always treated us as equals, however small we are.



Maldives' Speaker of Parliament&Former President Mohamed Nasheed at 6th India Ideas Conclave in Gujarat: Indian projects tendered by Govt of India are transparent. It is very rare, almost has never happened that any of these have become a debt trap. I like India rising. (28.02)
 

sorcerer

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Cabinet approves Opening of a new Consulate General of India in Addu City, Maldives


Posted On: 25 MAY 2021 1:13PM by PIB Delhi



The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the opening of a new Consulate General of India in Addu City, Maldives in 2021.


India and Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and commercial links steeped in antiquity. Maldives occupies an important place in the 'Neighbourhood First Policy' and the 'SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision of the Government of India.


Opening of a Consulate General in Addu City will help augment India's diplomatic presence in Maldives and make it commensurate with the existing and aspired level of engagement.


The momentum and energy in the bilateral relationship has reached unprecedented levels under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and President Solih.


This is also a forward-looking step in pursuit of our national priority of growth and development or 'SabkaSaathSabka Vikas'. Augmentation of India's diplomatic presence will, inter-alia, provide market access for Indian companies and bolster Indian exports of goods and services. This would have a direct impact in augmenting domestic production and employment in line with our goal of a self-reliant India or 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'.


****


DS
 

Tshering22

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Cabinet approves Opening of a new Consulate General of India in Addu City, Maldives


Posted On: 25 MAY 2021 1:13PM by PIB Delhi



The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the opening of a new Consulate General of India in Addu City, Maldives in 2021.


India and Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and commercial links steeped in antiquity. Maldives occupies an important place in the 'Neighbourhood First Policy' and the 'SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision of the Government of India.


Opening of a Consulate General in Addu City will help augment India's diplomatic presence in Maldives and make it commensurate with the existing and aspired level of engagement.


The momentum and energy in the bilateral relationship has reached unprecedented levels under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and President Solih.


This is also a forward-looking step in pursuit of our national priority of growth and development or 'SabkaSaathSabka Vikas'. Augmentation of India's diplomatic presence will, inter-alia, provide market access for Indian companies and bolster Indian exports of goods and services. This would have a direct impact in augmenting domestic production and employment in line with our goal of a self-reliant India or 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'.

****DS
The biggest challenge that India can be for China is only in terms of developing infrastructure and financing them. When I say financing them, I mean financing them through legitimate means and with fair estimates. The difference here would be that while the CCP inflates the costs of development and sources even bottles of water for its construction workers from its home country, Indian financing would be fair to the local workforce and would be to not just recover our costs of financing, but also make sure that Maldivian economy also benefits from this.

The Maldives is a dying nation and is culturally very different from India. However, until it is there, we must ensure that it remains neutral ground and pro-India in its attitude. Just enough to not allow PLAN bases there. That is not difficult to achieve, given that there are not many areas where you can invest in that country due to the terrain.

Things like heavy engineering, port construction, townships, mining, etc. are completely out of question. The best that India can do is to develop its own water desalination technology through JV companies with Israel and use the Indian portion of such an alliance to assist the Maldivians.
 

Kailash Kumar

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Explained: What signing of the $500m India-Maldives mega-infra project means

Neha Banka

August 27, 2021

A year after India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar, visited the Maldives and, during a meeting with his counterpart Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, announced the signing of a $500-million infrastructure project, the Maldives government officially signed an agreement with Mumbai-based company AFCONS, for the construction of the Greater Malé Connectivity Project (GMCP).

This infrastructure project, the largest-ever by India in the Maldives, involves the construction of a 6.74-km-long bridge and causeway link that will connect the Maldives capital Malé with the neighbouring islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi. According to India’s High Commission in the country, this project was funded by India in a grant of $100 million, with a line of credit of $400 million.

“The Greater Malé Connectivity Project supports the vision of Prime Minister Modi and President Solih for strong bilateral relations. The seeds of the project were planted during the External Affairs Minister’s visit to Malé in September 2019. The GMCP is concrete proof that India is a robust development partner of the Maldives in addition to being the First Responder in times of any emergency in the Maldives,” Sunjay Sudhir, High Commissioner of India to the Maldives, told indianexpress.com in a statement.

“The GMCP is not only the biggest project India is doing in the Maldives but also the biggest infrastructure project in the Maldives overall. This iconic project will give a major boost to the Maldivian economy,” Sudhir added.

What is this project about?

In August last year, The Indian Express had reported that New Delhi had decided to support the implementation of this project following a request from the Maldives government.

This project is significant because it facilitates inter-island connectivity in the country, said Dr. Gulbin Sultana, a research analyst at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, whose area of research includes the Maldives. “Transport is a major challenge for residents who have to take boats or seaplanes to distant islands. Locals take ferries or boats,” Sultana told indianexpress.com. It becomes even more difficult during the monsoons when the seas are rough. This bridge that would connect Malé with the three neighbouring islands would ease the process, Sultana added.

The Chinese-made 1.39 km-long Sinamalé Bridge connects Malé with the islands of Hulhulé and Hulhumalé and this project, four tiles longer, would link the other three islands.

Why it is needed?

Close to 40% of the entire population of the Maldives lives in Malé, that has an area of approximately 8.30 square kilometres, making it one of the most densely populated cities in the world, according to research by the South Asia Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

“It is very congested and land is a major issue. There is very little scope for Malé city to expand,” explained Sultana.

This prompted the current government in the Maldives to consider decentralisation and the development of other inhabited islands by equipping them with civic facilities like hospitals and other institutions, that would incentivise people to relocate to other islands, reducing the burden on Malé. With this bridge, transportation and connectivity to the capital city would also improve, opening up an alternative route for transport, that has been a persistent issue for the country’s people.

Why these islands?

In the island of Gulhifalhu, a port , is at present being built under the Indian line of credit. Located some 6 kilometers from Malé, since 2016, the island has been promoted by the Maldives government as a strategic location for manufacturing, warehousing and distribution facilities due to its proximity to the capital city. Back then, the government had also worked on installation of basic infrastructure, high-load capacity roads, water and sewage systems, telecommunications networks and electricity grids.

Located 7 km from the capital, the artificial island of Thilafushi was created and designated as a landfill in the early 1990s, to receive garbage created mostly in Malé. Over the past five to six years, the government began management of waste more effectively by using modern waste disposal methods instead of the original landfills.

That coincided with the establishment of industrial manufacturing and warehousing facilities on this island, that transformed it into a major industrial zone. The Maldives has plans of expanding industrial work on Thilafushi, making this bridge’s connectivity to the capital indispensable for the transport of employees and other services.

The finances

“After a five-year grace period, the interest rate is 1.75% and the Maldives has to repay it over a 20-year period. Of the $500 million, $100 million is a grant, while $400 million is the loan. India is investing so much and so we see the current government justify India’s loans as less expensive and more transparent, unlike China’s,” said Sultana, in a reference to Beijing’s debt-trap diplomacy.

Last year, when the agreement was first announced, former President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed, who is the current Speaker of the Maldives’ parliament, had pointedly referred to China’s loans to the previous Yameen government in a tweet: “The super low cost development assistance announced by @DrSJaishankar today is exactly what Maldives needs. Genuine help from a friend, to help us build critical infrastructure. Rather than eye-wateringly expensive commercial loans that leaves the nation mired in debt. @PMOIndia.”

“Maldives hasn’t really been clear about how much debt they owe to China. Nasheed says that the Maldives owes $3.4 billion, but the Chinese ambassador to the country says it is just $1.4 billion,” Sultana said.

This $500 million has been given only for the Greater Malé Connectivity Project, with several millions of dollars committed by India for other community-focused projects in the country. “When India provides financial assistance, it is always demand-driven. The government of the Maldives decides what projects they want to use that money for,” Sultana explained.

Plans for this Greater Malé project date back to 2013, around the time the Chinese restarted work on the Sinamalé Bridge after a brief pause. When the Solih government came into power in 2018, India expressed interest in working on this project, along with the port in Gulhifalhu. “If India doesn’t do this, someone else would have done it—most likely China,” explained Sultana.

All that is at stake

This isn’t only about an ambitious project involving both India and the Maldives. The terms of the agreement call for the completion of the bridge by 2023. If Mumbai-based AFCONS fails to deliver on the deadline, potentially, it might not reflect well on bilateral relations. “That is a problem, because countries complain that India doesn’t deliver on projects and they tend to make comparisons with China,” said Sultana. For India, Maldives holds strategic importance and showing that it can deliver would help mitigate some concerns that may exist in the Maldives.

Then, there are also the 2023 presidential elections and the 2024 parliamentary elections in the Maldives. Recently, the India-friendly ruling Maldivian Democratic Party has witnessed a split, divided between Nasheed supporters and Solih loyalists.

“It would be in India’s interests to finish the project by 2023, because the MDP couldn’t win the last Malé council elections. Malé is a major seat because 40% of the population lives there,” Sultana said. If the opposition PPM were to come to power, it would be a cause for concern for New Delhi, because they are known to be more friendly towards China than India. “Even otherwise, it is in India’s interests to show that they can meet deadlines.”




 

ym888

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Maldives Parliament Speaker, says that ‘India Out’ campaign, which demands that all Indian military personnel be expelled from Maldives, are made by ISIS cells operating in Maldives.

Are there any Indian military personnel in Maldives now?
 

Tshering22

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Are there any Indian military personnel in the Maldives now?
Maybe some might be there to train Maldivian soldiers, but there is no reason why we would need a Maldivian island. We have Lakshadweep which provides the same strategic access to the Arabian Sea as the Maldives would.

There are similar rumors of us making a military base in Mauritius, which was declined.
 

Tshering22

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Anti India flag removed in Maldives

Some reports say that there is an ISIS unit operating there with the blessings of the usual suspects. Is this true? The Maldives really cannot afford ISIS - their tiny tourism-based economy will be reduced to nothing if ISIS took root there.
 

brat4

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this is from the maldives constituion:
The constitution designates Islam as the official state religion
, and the government and many citizens at all levels interpreted this provision to impose a requirement that all citizens be Muslims and that non-Muslims could not vote. The constitution also stipulates that the president must be Sunni.
what do you think will happen?
 

Tshering22

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this is from the maldives constituion:
what do you think will happen?
It's always been there. We will as usual ignore it. What are you expecting? GoI to demand they become secular? 99% of Maldivian population is Muslim. There is literally no local who is a Hindu/Sikh/Buddhist etc.
 

JBH22

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Maybe some might be there to train Maldivian soldiers, but there is no reason why we would need a Maldivian island. We have Lakshadweep which provides the same strategic access to the Arabian Sea as the Maldives would.

There are similar rumors of us making a military base in Mauritius, which was declined.
There is a well coordinated disinformation campaign to malign india in IOR island such as Seychelles, Mauritius.
The images of muscular Hindutva such as Yogi etc is being used to vent anti India sentiment among non hindu population in those countries. The idea is to scare them what India will be doing to them etc.
Could be China or Pakistan or even western countries driving this agenda.
In any case, India is faulting if it thinks by doling out money it will make friends. Let them get their ass spanked by PRC then they will know. Make it a point if they harbour any military or intelligence base, then this is red line and will be resolved through use of weapons.
 

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This Abdlulla Yameen will once again win elections, across the subcontinent, screaming that the current ruler is an Indian puppet is best way to gain votes, especially in these green countries.
 

Tshering22

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There is a well coordinated disinformation campaign to malign india in IOR island such as Seychelles, Mauritius.
The images of muscular Hindutva such as Yogi etc is being used to vent anti India sentiment among non hindu population in those countries. The idea is to scare them what India will be doing to them etc.
Could be China or Pakistan or even western countries driving this agenda.
In any case, India is faulting if it thinks by doling out money it will make friends. Let them get their ass spanked by PRC then they will know. Make it a point if they harbour any military or intelligence base, then this is red line and will be resolved through use of weapons.
I agree. Doling out cash against such useless countries only wastes our resources. India should withdraw from the Maldives and let China eat their limited resources raw. The only warning we should give is that if Maldivian territory is used to stage military operations against Indian interests, their islands will be a fair game for Indian missiles and bombs. This warning should also be given to their Islamists who will get full support from Pakistan.

Mauritius & Seychelles are different cases. They know we don't meddle in their affairs and they will remain friendly. We always had the chance to take over them but we didn't and they know that our value system doesn't work that way.
 

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