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NEW DELHI / BEIJING – China's effort to expand its influence in the Indian Ocean is a stumbling block as Maldivians reject a leader who has brought his country closer to Beijing in favor of an opposition candidate
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, 54, a member of the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of the Maldives, won a landslide victory against President Abdulla Yameen in an election Sunday night around the world. The island nation has acquired geopolitical importance for Beijing, New Delhi and Washington, given its strategic location on a seaway linking the Middle East and East Asia.
The result marks a setback for the Beijing Belt and Road Initiative, of which Yameen was one of the first proponents, accepting funding for bridges, housing and other infrastructure projects .
Yameen also signed a free trade agreement with Beijing at the end of last year. From January to June, 18% of Maldives imports came from China, which surpassed India with 11% to become the second largest exporter to the archipelago nation, after the oil-rich United Arab Emirates.
Frequent speculation that China would build a military port in the Maldives has galvanized India, the self-appointed hegemon of Southeast Asia, and the United States, which has a naval base on it. 39, British island of Diego Garcia, south of the archipelago.
India has sounded the alarm on the pro-Beijing Maldives. After Yameen declared the state of emergency in February, the opposition called on India to intervene militarily. New Delhi sent warships a few months later to put pressure on Yameen.
India spared no expense in supporting local opposition parties by donating tens of millions of dollars to intelligence agencies, a government source said. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday that the election results "not only signaled the triumph of democratic forces in the Maldives, but also reflected a firm commitment to the values of democracy and the rule of law."
The election is also a victory for the Trump administration as Washington, worried about China's growing influence in the Indian Ocean, is advancing its Indo-Pacific strategy. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis held their first two-two dialogue this month with their Indian counterparts. Reflecting strategic change, US Pacific Command was renamed Indo-Pacific Command in May.
Although Beijing has not published a comment on the election results, the defeat of the outgoing president in China has apparently been a shock. Concerned about drifting to India, the Chinese will probably not waste time establishing a relationship with Solih through economic cooperation.
It is also expected that Beijing is courting the new administration with a soft spot on the estimated $ 2 billion debt to China, a considerable burden for a country of about 400,000 people whose economy depends heavily on tourism.
China, however, has won victories in other South Asian countries. A pro-Beijing government came to power in February in India after the elections last year. Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, elected in July, also focused on relations with China.
