It was earlier used by the education ministry for school trips and cadet, scout, and girl guide activities.
According to the archived "Maldives Independent" news website, the tourism ministry on 22 December 2016 revealed that the island was leased to a Chinese company for 50 years at an acquisition cost of about US$4 million.
However, according to the report, the Maldives' government did not disclose the name of the Chinese company.
Now, according to a report, on 26 January 2024, titled, "Despite Maldives’ Embrace of China, India’s Sphere of Influence Remains Intact", by "The National Interest", "China’s purpose is still not entirely known."
"China is now the largest creditor to the Maldives at $1.37 billion or twenty percent of public debt, well ahead of both Saudi Arabia and India", the website went on to say.
"The National Interest" is owned and operated by the Center for the National Interest, founded in 1994 by U.S. President Richard M. Nixon.
2) Who invited the Indian military to have a long-term presence in Maldives - and most importantly, why?
You might wonder why President Muizzu's call to repatriate the Indian military stationed in Uthuruthilafalhu in North Male' atoll has become not only a hotly contested domestic issue but a geopolitical one involving the national interests of both India and China.
It comes down to the fact that President Maumoon was able to nicely get Indian troops to withdraw from Maldives one year after the 1988 failed coup because he did not have an agreement with the Indian government to have a long-term Indian military presence in the Maldives.
Under President Muizzu's government, India is reluctant to evict its 88 military personnel from Maldives because a previous Maldives' leader had signed an agreement with the Indian government facilitating a long-term Indian military presence in Maldives.
Who did it and why?
"The Indian personnel have been stationed there since Mohamed Nasheed’s presidency in 2010," according to the above-mentioned report on "The National Interest" website.
(PHOTO: A rig to build a bridge between Male' and Thilafushi undertaken by India)
India is now a Hindu theocracy
ReplyDeleteModi was right to declare that the opening of the Hindu temple at Ayodhya was a new chapter in India's history. The country is now not the world's biggest secular democracy anymore
DeleteWhen BJP surely will win the upcoming general elections the party will throw out the current constitution and compile a new one in favour of the 900 million Hindus out of India's 1.4 billion population. This should not be a surprise because India is a Hindu majority nation
ReplyDeleteWhat's the problem with India being a Hindu community? The majority is Hindu, no?
ReplyDeleteThe Ram temple in Ayodhya is for Hindus what the Kaaba in Mecca is for Muslims. It's tourism. It's an economic decision for both India and Saudi Arabia.
ReplyDeleteYou mean 'religious tourism'? I mean religion been used as a tool for tourism? So tourists coming to observe King Salman mosque and the Islamic Centre in Male' amounts to religious tourism in our own Maldives?
DeleteWhat about Hukuru Miskiy and other centuries old mosques in Raajjethere?
Delete