By Aarti Betigeri
From the article:
The Maldives, with its sun-soaked resorts and vivid turquoise waters, epitomises luxury and Instagram perfection for a breed of cashed-up holidaymakers and honeymooners. But the reality of the island nation is vastly different: creeping Salafism and hijabs, political uncertainty, and a gradual erosion of democratic freedoms, set against a backdrop of Chinese-funded infrastructure projects, all thanks to the former President Abdulla Yameen.
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Beijing has, in recent years, pledged to finance a heap of infrastructure projects – upgrading its international airport, building a 1.4 kilometre bridge between Hulhule and Male, all part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. A memorandum of understanding on the initiative was signed in 2014 between the two countries.
These were enthusiastically supported by Yameen, however Solih has made it clear that he is not comfortable with the level of Chinese involvement, and any potential for China to use the Maldives as a convenient spot from where to view oil shipments and other sea traffic, but also a strategic staging post in its future plans in the Indian Ocean.
According to the Center for Global Development, a US-based think tank, the loans from China to the Maldives come in at around $1.3 million – and the country is one of the most at-risk of any of those involved in the Belt and Road Initiative to failing to meet its repayments.
Read the full article here.