China's debt trap to seize blue economy through Maldives..!?

Sowmiya Sriram
China's debt trap to seize blue economy through Maldives..!?
 China wants to increase its control over the indian Ocean by ensnaring the maldives in its debt trap. maldives, which is trying to distance itself from india, and its growing friendship with china is being watched internationally. Economists worry that the new relationship could be dangerous for the Maldives. Along with China's policy of data-border expansion, it also wants to increase its control over the indian Ocean by trapping the maldives in a debt trap.
Through this, china wants to capture the blue economy through maritime trade. lakshadweep and maldives dispute can be said to be an excuse. The President of maldives, Mohammed Moiseu, while contesting the elections, presented the slogan 'India Out'. This exposed his anti-Indian tendencies. Moiju, close to china, harbors hostility against India. Is it so easy for maldives with a population of 5.21 lakh to oppose India? If one questions whether a president of a country does not know the pros and cons of appreciating enmity with a strong neighbor, his course will appear strange.
In fact, he is not ignorant, china is the background. It is noteworthy that Moiju went to china amid tensions with India. His closeness with Chinese President Xi jinping was evident. Since the love he received from china is selfish and china will not do anything without its own interest, China's friendship with the Maldivian president is based on its own interests. china is using the maldives as a puppet to increase its dominance in the indian Ocean. china has increased its debt to the maldives, which is ensnaring the maldives in its debt trap. The international Monetary Fund has pointed to the debt repayment crisis. china is known for its debt trap diplomacy, the first to lure countries into its web of loans. It has been China's longstanding policy to impose its will on a country that defaults on debt.
According to a report published by the Observer Research Foundation, it is noteworthy that 60 percent of the Maldives' total loans came from China. The international Monetary Fund says the maldives has a $1.37 billion loan from China. Chinese government loans aside, investment by Chinese companies in the maldives has increased to $1.37 billion. china has invested heavily in infrastructure and manufacturing in the Maldives.
Not only debt, china has trapped maldives in the trap of a blue economy. china dreamed of a blue economy to pull the maldives away from india and bring it closer to itself. china is wooing the maldives through its blue economy. The blue economy is economic business activities that take place in or around the ocean. A blue economy includes the development of fisheries, oil and mineral production, shipping and maritime trade, and the tourism industry. china wants to increase its control over the indian Ocean by ensnaring the maldives in the blue economy.
 
China wants to increase its dominance in the natural resource-rich indian Ocean. With the maldives, the question arises whether the Maldivian government is unable to understand China's self-interested move to focus on fisheries, tidal energy, offshore oil mining, mineral production, and marine tourism. If maldives does not recover now, the same situation as sri lanka may happen to Maldives. The small country maldives is falling prey to China's machinations. China's involvement in the economy is increasing. The two-way trade between maldives and china in 2022 is about $451.29 million, of which maldives exported $60,000, while china exported $451.29 million. china has expanded the Velana international Airport in Male under the Belt and Road Initiative to build global trade and infrastructure networks amid China's growing influence in the Maldives.

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