Diplomat: China-India Chess Match in the Maldives

The Maldives have been in a state of emergency since February 6 with an arrest order for a former president and Supreme Court chief justice. “The crisis may appear to be an internal power struggle between the Supreme Court and the government of the South Asian island country, but it has wider geopolitical ramifications, and has spiraled into a power struggle between India and China,” report Sunaina Kumar and Angela Stanzel for the Diplomat. Current President Abdulla Yameen, described as pro-China, ousted the country’s first democratically elected president, who has since reached out to India for intervention. Since 2013, the Maldives have welcomed China’s infrastructure development. Loans account for about 70 percent of the Maldives’ national debt: “it appears that the BRI is not only about increasing economic ties but also about expanding China’s geostrategic ventures in the maritime realm.” The article goes on to report worries about India’s failure to respond, thus reducing its regional power status, as expressed by YaleGlobal writer Harsh Pant. The United States, European Union and Saudi Arabia could apply pressure on the Maldives by issuing cautions about the tourist destination. – YaleGlobal