Maldives Elections | Latest Burning Issues

Table of Contents

NOTES

The Maldives was a Commonwealth republic from July 1982 until its withdrawal from the Commonwealth in October 2016 in protest of international criticism of its records in relation to corruption and human rights.

INDIA – MALDIVES TENSIONS

President Abdulla Yameen’s control over the Maldives since he took power in 2013
India was one of the first countries that Yameen visited after winning elections in 2013. In 2014, Yameen was one of the leaders India invited for the swearing in of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
But Modi called off a visit to Maldives in 2015 during a tour of Sri Lanka, Seychelles and Mauritius following reports of a crackdown by Yameen on the opposition.

DIFFICULTIES FOR INDIA

Just earlier this year, Maldives signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pakistan to develop its power sector.
And before that, the island nation had scrapped a helicopter deal with India.
Work permits given to Indians were being squeezed as well while Male also saying it wanted two Indian helicopters and accompanying crew stationed here to pack up and leave.

DIFFICULTIES FOR INDIA

Free trade agreement with China
The lopsided nature of the FTA, loaded as it is heavily in favour of the Chinese, would adversely impact on virtually every segment of Maldivian economy.
The people of Maldives and its business community are alarmed on the implications of the FTA and view it as an aggressive act by China to pursue its own agenda.

DIFFICULTIES FOR INDIA

Yameen in many ways defied India something that even Mahinda Rajapaksa did not fully do during this 10-yearreign in Sri Lanka. He did not partner India in any of the Modi government’s maritime iniatives for the region despite Delhi’s decades old defence ties with Male.

ELECTION RESULT IN MALDIVES

Recent times have seen relations between Maldives and India deteriorate. With Ibrahim Mohamed Solih now set to replace Abdulla Yameen, there may be a new dawn on the horizon.

TROUBLE FOR CHINA

Solih’s Maldivian Democratic Party has taken an antiChina stance.
Former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed previously claimed China has pulled his country into a “debt trap” and that a future opposition-led government would renegotiate Chinese loans. Nasheed said China had provided more than $2.5 billion in loans to the island nation.

NOTES

Chinese loans for projects already account for around 70 percent of the Maldives’ national debt. In 2014, China began to develop major infrastructure projects in the island nation, carried out by Chinese stateowned companies.
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. On December 7, 2017, China and the Maldives signed a free trade agreement.

RESET WITH CHINA

It is understood that the Solih government could renegotiate the bridge that China has built in Maldives that would reduce financial burden on Male whose primary source of revenue is tourism. China’s massive loans to the Maldives raises questions on the island’s ability to repay its debts, as this translates into increasing political leverage for China. Maldives is critical to BRI and the mega project is not only about increasing economic ties but also about expanding China’s geostrategic goals