Advertisement
Advertisement
Belt and Road Initiative
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Former president of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed accused China of a systematic land grab in his politically-troubled Indian Ocean archipelago and undermining its sovereignty. Photo: AFP

Exiled Maldives leader says Chinese deals on islands are ‘land grabs’

Ex-president Mohamed Nasheed said Chinese interests had leased at least 16 islets among the 1,192 scattered coral islands and were building ports and other infrastructure there

Exiled Maldives opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed on Monday accused China of seizing land in the politically-troubled Indian Ocean archipelago and undermining its sovereignty.

Nasheed said Chinese interests had leased at least 16 islets among the 1,192 scattered coral islands and were building ports and other infrastructure there.

The 50-year-old former president said the increased Chinese presence could threaten the Muslim-majority nation of 340,000 and the wider Indian Ocean region.

During a visit to Colombo, where his Maldivian Democratic Party activists are based, Nasheed called the Chinese action a “land grab”.

“This is colonialism and we must not allow it. We want other countries (in the region) to join us and speak the same language (against Chinese expansion). We are not against any country, not against direct foreign investment, but we are against relinquishing our sovereignty.”

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen shakes the hand of China's President Xi Jinping after a meeting in Beijing in December. File photo: Reuters

China considers Maldives to be key cog in the Indian Ocean in its “One Belt One Road” project along ancient trade routes through the Indian Ocean and Central Asia.

The initiative is Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature project and envisages building ports, railways and roads to expand trade in a vast arc of countries across Asia, Africa and Europe.

Nasheed said 80 per cent of the Maldives’ foreign debt was owed to China and the nation could end up handing over more land and infrastructure as it may not be able to repay the loans.

He was referring to Sri Lanka’s experience under former president Mahinda Rajapakse who borrowed heavily from China. The new government had to sell projects to repay debts.

Nasheed, who wants to contest this year’s presidential election, said he would renegotiate contracts with China if successful.

He said the current administration had entered agreements with China without making them public.

He was the Maldives’ first democratically elected president in 2008, but was narrowly defeated in 2013 by President Abdullah Yameen.

Nasheed was later jailed on terrorism charges he says were politically motivated. He has lived in exile for two years after Maldives authorities let him travel to London for medical treatment.

He is almost certain to be arrested on return to the Maldives, whose reputation as an upmarket honeymoon destination has been battered by years of political unrest.

The Maldives constitution bars Nasheed from being a candidate because of a 2015 criminal conviction. But he hopes the restriction will be lifted in response to international pressure.

A UN panel has ruled that Nasheed’s imprisonment was illegal and ordered authorities to pay compensation. The government has refused.

Additional reporting by Associated Press

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: China accused of ‘land grab’ of 16 islets
Post