02-07-2018, 12:01 AM
*** 7-Feb-18 World View -- Maldives crisis pits India vs China in the Indian Ocean
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Maldives president arrests Supreme Court justices to get favorable court ruling
****
![[Image: g180206b.gif]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g180206b.gif)
Map showing strategic location of Maldives and Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean
India is debating whether it will be necessary to intervene military
in the Maldives, as the government appears to be getting increasingly
unstable.
Maldives is an archipelago of around 1,200 islands in the Indian
Ocean, off the coast of India, with enormous strategic significance
because of its proximity to international sea lanes through which
two-thirds of the world’s oil and half its container shipments pass.
Maldives has had one presidential crisis after another for years, but
the current crisis began most acutely in March 2015, when president
Abdulla Yameen jailed Mohamed Nasheed, a former president who had been
the only democratically elected president in the country's history.
Nasheed and a dozen supporters were jailed on "terrorism" charges,
which Nasheed said were politically motivated.
Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in jail, but in 2016 he was
permitted to go the UK for emergency medical treatment. While in the
UK, he was granted asylum, and he's lived there in exile.
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that the 2015 convictions were
unconstitutional, and that all of Nasheed's supporters should be
released from jail.
In response, Yameen ordered the police to arrest two of the Supreme
Court justices. The remaining three judges then reversed the previous
order to free Nasheed's supporters, and so they remain in jail.
Yameen has ordered a 15-day state of emergency and imposed martial
law, giving him and the police unlimited authority to arrest anyone
without charging them.
The biggest industry in the Maldives is tourism, and this is the
height of the tourist season. The US, the UK, India and China are all
advising citizens not to travel to the Maldives for fear that the
political chaos could turn into street violence.
Nasheed, still in exile, is calling on India to intervene militarily.
India did intervene militarily in 1998, when Maldives was under attack
from Sri Lankan Tamil militants. Today, India is keeping its navy on
alert and continuing patrols around the Maldives islands, but there
are no plans now to intervene. Al-Jazeera and New Delhi TV and BBC and Daily Telegraph (Australia) and AP
****
**** Maldives crisis pits India vs China in the Indian Ocean
****
When Mohamed Nasheed was president, Maldives had a close relationship
with the UK and India. However, president Yameen has distanced
himself from the UK and India, and is developing close relationships
with China, much to the distress of India.
Under Yameen, Maldives has also developed close relations with Saudi
Arabia. In June, 2017, Maldives joined in the blockade by Saudi
Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain against Qatar.
For decades, India has considered both Maldives and Sri Lanka to be
part of its major sphere of influence. But China has invaded both
countries with infrastructure projects, gaining influence at India's
expense. China has recently taken control of Sri Lanka's southern
Hambantota seaport.
India was shocked on December 8 when China and Maldives signed a Free
Trade Agreement (FTA). This brings Maldives into China's Maritime
Silk Road, a component of China's Belt and Road Initiative. Other
agreements provided for cooperation in health, tourism, technology and
climate change. When combined with China's control of Sri Lanka's
Hambantota seaport, this gives China considerable control over the sea
lanes in the India Ocean. The Diplomat and First Post (India) and Nikkei Asian Review and The Diplomat (21-Apr-2017)
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Maldives, Abdulla Yameen, Mohamed Nasheed,
India, China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
Belt and Road Initiative, BRI,
Maritime Silk Road, Sri Lanka, Hambantota seaport
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Maldives president arrests Supreme Court justices to get favorable court ruling
- Maldives crisis pits India vs China in the Indian Ocean
****
**** Maldives president arrests Supreme Court justices to get favorable court ruling
****
Map showing strategic location of Maldives and Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean
India is debating whether it will be necessary to intervene military
in the Maldives, as the government appears to be getting increasingly
unstable.
Maldives is an archipelago of around 1,200 islands in the Indian
Ocean, off the coast of India, with enormous strategic significance
because of its proximity to international sea lanes through which
two-thirds of the world’s oil and half its container shipments pass.
Maldives has had one presidential crisis after another for years, but
the current crisis began most acutely in March 2015, when president
Abdulla Yameen jailed Mohamed Nasheed, a former president who had been
the only democratically elected president in the country's history.
Nasheed and a dozen supporters were jailed on "terrorism" charges,
which Nasheed said were politically motivated.
Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in jail, but in 2016 he was
permitted to go the UK for emergency medical treatment. While in the
UK, he was granted asylum, and he's lived there in exile.
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that the 2015 convictions were
unconstitutional, and that all of Nasheed's supporters should be
released from jail.
In response, Yameen ordered the police to arrest two of the Supreme
Court justices. The remaining three judges then reversed the previous
order to free Nasheed's supporters, and so they remain in jail.
Yameen has ordered a 15-day state of emergency and imposed martial
law, giving him and the police unlimited authority to arrest anyone
without charging them.
The biggest industry in the Maldives is tourism, and this is the
height of the tourist season. The US, the UK, India and China are all
advising citizens not to travel to the Maldives for fear that the
political chaos could turn into street violence.
Nasheed, still in exile, is calling on India to intervene militarily.
India did intervene militarily in 1998, when Maldives was under attack
from Sri Lankan Tamil militants. Today, India is keeping its navy on
alert and continuing patrols around the Maldives islands, but there
are no plans now to intervene. Al-Jazeera and New Delhi TV and BBC and Daily Telegraph (Australia) and AP
****
**** Maldives crisis pits India vs China in the Indian Ocean
****
When Mohamed Nasheed was president, Maldives had a close relationship
with the UK and India. However, president Yameen has distanced
himself from the UK and India, and is developing close relationships
with China, much to the distress of India.
Under Yameen, Maldives has also developed close relations with Saudi
Arabia. In June, 2017, Maldives joined in the blockade by Saudi
Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain against Qatar.
For decades, India has considered both Maldives and Sri Lanka to be
part of its major sphere of influence. But China has invaded both
countries with infrastructure projects, gaining influence at India's
expense. China has recently taken control of Sri Lanka's southern
Hambantota seaport.
India was shocked on December 8 when China and Maldives signed a Free
Trade Agreement (FTA). This brings Maldives into China's Maritime
Silk Road, a component of China's Belt and Road Initiative. Other
agreements provided for cooperation in health, tourism, technology and
climate change. When combined with China's control of Sri Lanka's
Hambantota seaport, this gives China considerable control over the sea
lanes in the India Ocean. The Diplomat and First Post (India) and Nikkei Asian Review and The Diplomat (21-Apr-2017)
Related Articles
- Pakistan overwhelmed and China alarmed over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) (12-Dec-2017)
- China takes control of strategic Hambantota seaport in Sri Lanka, raising concerns in India (11-Dec-2017)
- China establishes its first foreign military base, in Djibouti (13-Jul-2017)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Maldives, Abdulla Yameen, Mohamed Nasheed,
India, China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
Belt and Road Initiative, BRI,
Maritime Silk Road, Sri Lanka, Hambantota seaport
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
