Maldives Civil-Military Issues

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 20 Feb 2018 22:27

We should've sent a "protection naval task force" earlier- still not too late to get there before the Chins! Ostensibly to protect the Maldives from external aggression.Now as I said two weeks ago, the moment China and or Pak supply forces to support the tadpole, it is "match over" for India not jus in the Maldives but also the entire IOR.China will simply send more flotillas to littoral nations and establish in record time its de-facto bases to complete its string of pearls and encircle India.India's inaction is frankly utterly insane and smacks of a deep rooted character of defeatism by the entire establishment.What are our armed forces also doing? Can they not meet the PM and warn him of the criticality of the situ? They too havd their role to play and must do so now.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 20 Feb 2018 22:33

We should've sent a "protection naval task force" earlier- still not too late to get there before the Chins! Ostensibly to protect the Maldives from external aggression.Now as I said two weeks ago, the moment China and or Pak supply forces to support the tadpole, it is "match over" for India not just in the Maldives but also the entire IOR.China will simply send more flotillas to littoral nations and establish in record time its de-facto bases to complete its string of pearls and encircle India.India's inaction is frankly utterly insane and smacks of a deep rooted character of defeatism by the entire establishment.It is so evident with the way Pak simply ignores our weak protests and ramps up its terror against us. What are our armed forces also doing? Can they not meet the PM and warn him of the criticality of the situ? They too have their role to play and must do so now before we lose the game without even playing a single move on the chessboard.

You know saying doing nothing is an action in itself is not really wise.In chess there is always the clock.Many great chessplayers have lost games because of time trouble.Indian diplomacy seems to have forgotten that the clock is ticking and with every tick that the Chins get closer to the scene of (in) action!

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 20 Feb 2018 22:43

^^ Sorry to ask, Philip sir, but do you even read any other posts before posting away? I ask this q as the previous posts shared the news of the Chinese turning tail and heading back, along with a strong quad service Indian presence in the waters near Maldives.

So what exactly are you referring to when you say we "should have" sent naval forces to pre-empt the Chinese before they "get there"?

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 21 Feb 2018 03:36

Is there definitive intel that they have turned back or a turn of deception? Had we sent a "protective" task force in the first place to sanitise the region, there would've been no task force attempting to sail to the Maldives. There is one possibility though that there local intel has informed them that the despot's position is becoming increasingly untenable.The problem still remains though the handing over of 16 islands to China whatever happens reg. the leadership issue.It is simply unacceptable to India.A forward visible presence there by the IN would've resolved the situ perhaps much earlier.Our apparenr reluctance to do so opened a window of opportunity for the Chinese.The game is still on.

chola · Post by **chola** » 21 Feb 2018 07:30

One more nail to pound into this stupidity of “being surrounded” dhoti shivering and excuse building.

https://theprint.in/2018/02/20/reports- ... aggerated/

With the possible exception of the United States, which resolved its land disputes with Canada and Mexico in the 1840s and 1850s, no global power has settled its neighbourhood before seeking wider aspirations. None of the European colonial powers did, not even Britain, which saw insurrections in Scotland and Ireland even as it was building a global empire. Nor did the Soviet Union, Japan, or China. Those who believe that India cannot have larger ambitions until every one of its regional differences is resolved would do well to reflect on this history.

The whole “String of Pearl” concept is complete bull manure when Cheen grew to its present state surround by US bases and warships. It is nothing more than a damn excuse.

Aarvee · Post by **Aarvee** » 21 Feb 2018 07:46

chola wrote: The whole “String of Pearl” concept is complete bull manure when Cheen grew to its present state surround by US bases and warships. It is nothing more than a damn excuse.

It may well be BS Chola. But being careful to not let your enemies set up camp in your back yard is not dhoti shivering. You guys need to understand, when some of us are saying we need to ensure Cheen doenst get to Maldives, it is not because we do not trust the capabilities of our armed forces. The problem is with the tendency of political and bureaucratic inaction. Today they might just visit and help the democratic Govt of Maldives as PKF. Tomorrow, they'll just station a few marines to guard their interest just like they would in Pak. Day after when India has a shitty govt, theyll start needling us. We can not choose our neighbors. We have to deal with them any how in the north. The south has been the great geographic strategic depth. Do you want to shallow that and allow enemies close?

Just because some of us would rather be safe than sorry doesnt mean we are dhoti shivering. Please avoid this insinuation.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 21 Feb 2018 07:56

the arab incursions into sindh...then takeover of kandahar and sindh...then guj and rajputana...then punjab and delhi....is a good case study when you lose military control of your near frontiers and border tracts through disunity and confusion and complacency regarding the threat potential.

once cheen is done dumping rocks and sand, maldivian bases will be 30 feet ASL and able to host everything from submarines to carriers.

do not come back and whine then, because you were asleep today.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 21 Feb 2018 08:06

India remains in the best position to help us: Mohamed Nasheed - Suhasini Haidar, The Hindu

Q: The situation in the Maldives appears to be fluid, with the Yameen government’s decision on the emergency. However, given that it appears to control both the judiciary and the parliament, has the opposition run out of options?

A:The government is unable to extend the state of emergency legally, because they don’t have the 43 MPs in the Majlis that must vote in favour of it. This means that the emergency, and any extension to it, is illegal. It also means that any actions taken by the government or security forces using emergency powers are illegal. Meanwhile, the Chief Justice and another Supreme Court Justice have been illegally detained. This means anything decided by the remaining SC justices is invalid. President Yameen is ruling down the barrel of a gun. There is zero legitimacy to anything he is doing.

Q:India has asked that the government abide by the court’s original ruling and lift the emergency. What is your reaction to that?

A:I welcome the statement by the Ministry of External Affairs. I urge the government to fully comply with it.

Q:The government has offered multiparty talks as well. How do you respond to that?

A:We would like to see the government create an environment that is conducive to talks. It is very difficult for us to sit down while the Chief Justice is in jail, other judges are in jail, the former President is in jail, and all political leaders are in jail, and there is emergency rule. So, we would like President Yameen to create an environment where both sides can trust each other and sit down [for talks]. But, at present, the general view is that President Yameen is trying to buy time. So, when we sit down to try to find a solution, we do want the international community to underwrite talks. The United Nations should be engaged in them as well.

There is a whole host of things that have to be done now before we sit down. Even a month ago… we were quite willing to sit down without any conditions. But now [Mr. Yameen] has dragged the situation down so much, it is very difficult to talk.

Q:You’re saying he must revert to the status quo ante. What else would it take for you to feel comfortable to enter into these talks?

A:For instance, the Supreme Court ruling [dismissing charges against nine political opposition leaders] cannot be part of political talks.

Q:How sure are you of your strength in the Majlis? You had started a process to impeach the Speaker that didn’t succeed. And the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) claims it has a majority in the House.

A:Let’s do it then — let’s have all our MPs in and let’s have a vote. We clearly have a parliamentary majority. And we believe there are several members of the PPM who are not happy with the status quo and who do not want to support what President Yameen has done. So I think we will have more than the 44 required for a majority. It may be 55.

Q:And if elections take place, will the opposition be united? Will your coalition include leaders like President Yameen’s former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb, or businessman Gasim Ibrahim, who are accused of attempted murder and terror?

A:Well, the coalition is between all the parties, not individuals. It will have the Adhaalath Party, the Jumhooree Party, and the PPM that is led by [former] President Gayoom and the Maldivian Democratic Party.

Q:You have appealed to India to send an envoy to the Maldives. What is it that you want India to do?

A:I think India must be on the ground in Male with an envoy and try to ensure that President Yameen relents. My view is that India has a number of other tools and I believe India has the imagination to use them. I have never asked for boots on the ground.

Q:But you have used the term gunboat diplomacy, which evokes war scenarios. That sounds quite drastic.

A:No. In fact, gunboat diplomacy doesn’t mean an attack; it means a show of strength. I feel we are at a defining moment in the Indian Ocean and we must depart from the past. There is an effort on to change the state type in the Maldives… to move from democracy back to dictatorship, using money power. So, what I am saying is not drastic. If, in August 2018, President Yameen is elected unopposed, the Maldives will go into at least 10 years of autocratic rule, and after that I don’t think India or any other country will be able to pull us out of it. We have always seen India as a net provider of security and safety in the region, for the past 600 years. So, we mustn’t lose the moment.

Q:Do you see the Maldives becoming an area of contestation, buffeted by the roles that India, China and the U.S. now play in the Indian Ocean?

A:Yes, we seem to be a bit sandwiched there. The U.S., however, seems to be looking more and more inwards, and we don’t feel they are willing to exert their power in the ocean, and have outsourced their policy to others. So, India remains in the best position to help us.

Q:What do you think will happen next?

A:I think Mr. Yameen is trying to get the Chief Justice to resign, so he will have the emergency rule until he is able to achieve that. The Chief Justice’s family told me that he remains strong, and I am hopeful he will not resign. If he doesn’t resign, I think the emergency will carry on.
In 2012, you too had ordered the detention of a judge who gave bail to an Islamist group that had defaced some statues during the SAARC summit.

Q:The accusation against you is that when you were in power, you did the same thing.

Well, power does have this sense of continuity. As a leader, I came in after decades of single party autocratic rule, and some systems remained strong. You can topple a dictator, but it is very difficult to uproot dictatorship. Yes, if I could go back in time, I wouldn’t have done that. We were very young in democracy; our political party was only 12 years old. But yes, given a chance, I would have done otherwise. {But, it is very difficult for such small island-nations with fragile economy to resist the Chinese allure. If given a chance, Nasheed will do the same again but may be with a bit more sensitivity to India.}

Q:Despite all this, you have often said that the real crisis in the Maldives is not dealing with dictatorship. Describe the situation you see there, and what is of deepest concern to you.

A:Yes, you are right, this is not the real crisis in the Maldives. I have been tortured twice; I have spent the good half of my adult life in jail. But I’m afraid this is not the real crisis. The real crisis in the Maldives springs from two recent developments. First, the development of a state within the Maldives by the IS. Second, attempts by emerging powers to change state type, with a view to drive land grab. During the last 40 years, Saudi Arabia has propagated a very narrow version of Islam that has created a breeding ground for jihadi movements. We are now in a very worrying situation where the Maldives has sent the most number of people per capita than any country to fight for the IS. Hundreds of Maldivians have joined jihadi groups. This could not have been achieved without a very solid network in the Maldives. At present, the issue becomes a crisis as the IS is being flushed out of Syria and the Levant. They are coming home to the Maldives.

But also, a far more sophisticated attack on the Maldives is happening without a single shot being fired. Although land grabs are occurring worldwide, they are more common in countries where the protection of human rights is poor. Due to a combination of international and domestic drivers, the Maldives has become a flourishing land-grab paradise. Without firing a single shot, China has grabbed more land than what the East India Company had at the height of the colonial era. They have weaponised foreign direct investments. Instead of rifles, bayonets and cartridges, the weapons in the new colonial arsenal are bribery, corruption and dubious investments. I don’t have anything against foreign direct investment, per se. But there is a process that must be followed: there should be open tenders, competitive bidding, and democratic scrutiny.

Q:You were President for four years. During your tenure, you allowed the Chinese mission to be set up and invited Chinese business. Why didn’t you do anything then?

A:In 2007, President Gayoom visited China and appointed a Maldivian Ambassador there. In our government I had no choice but to allow that. In India, there seems to be a trust deficit about us. But establishing an embassy doesn’t mean that we were also facilitating land grabs.

Q:India was the only country in the region, minus Bhutan, which didn’t join China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). What must India do to counter China’s troublesome, but obviously attractive, influence in South Asia?

A:It’s not about deep pockets. Look, in the past, the Maldives became a middle-income country, primarily through development loans from the State Bank of India. And people in the Maldives don’t forget that. It’s not about how deep your pockets are but how you run the process. India has the ability to provide more sustainable loans for Indian Ocean countries, and that is where it has an edge.

Q:If you were to come to power, you may be able to reverse the crisis with the land grab. But how would you reverse the IS problem?

A:Well, first you have to tackle the problem internally, as that is how radicalisation works. How did IS take over a big city like Mosul? Because first they eat it from the inside, they go deep and spread their ideas inside, so when they attack, no one counters it. And my fear is, that process is already under way in the Maldives.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 21 Feb 2018 08:47

China ups strategic game in Pakistan, Maldives, Nepal: Is India alert enough to the clear, grave and present danger?

China ups strategic game in Pakistan, Maldives, Nepal: Is India alert enough to the clear, grave and present danger?

Sreemoy Talukdar Feb 20, 2018.

Indian policymakers, wonks and strategists still tend to reflexively underplay the scope, scale and gravity of the threat that China poses for India. If we choose to ignore the Cold War hangover, part of this has roots in our collective memory of the 1962 war and the lessons that we have (wittingly or unwittingly) internalised. It has, among other things, led to a denial of realities that prevents us from assessing the true nature of the bilateral relationship.

Part of this 'underplaying' of Chinese threat also flows from a strong moral compulsion in India's foreign policy, that places a burden of 'exceptionalism' on our actions. Regardless of the threat perception, India must do what is "morally right" and set an example before the world. In her book From Chanakya To Modi, The Evolution of India's Foreign Policy (Harper Collins, Page 15) Aparna Pande posits that an element of this 'Indian exceptionlism' is an assumption that "the rest of the world (will) accord India status commensurate with its civilisational contribution." Since we are destined for greatness, it makes sense, as it were, to wait for it instead of being proactive.

Beijing obviously doesn't subscribe to the Indian worldview. Under Xi Jinping, it has set about constructing a Sinocentric globe and "a unipolar Asian order that will be defined by deference to the Middle Kingdom and its increasingly imperial rulers", as ORF vice-president Samir Saran writes in The Security Times on Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

And as China goes about rapidly translating its economic prowess into hard power and geopolitical might to further strategic goals, at least in the immediate neighbourhood it increasingly finds India blocking its path to regional hegemony. From India's stand on BRI to resistance in Doka La, from New Delhi's economic, strategic, military and political influence over Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh to its larger game in ASEAN, the stage is set for a fierce battle for Asia's and even global future, because at issue are not just two giant competing nations but completely different political, ethical, philosophical and normative systems.

It is fascinating to watch China's response to India's primacy in the subcontinent — a region that falls within India's civilisational sphere of influence and consists of sovereigns who have deep and enduring traditional, cultural and historical ties with India. For New Delhi, its immediate neighbourhood isn't just a "sphere of influence" but also a security buffer and "one indivisible historical entity", as Pande writes in her book.

Xi's China relies on a combination of gunboat and chequebook diplomacy for regional hegemony, and where it cannot employ this coercive playbook, Beijing tries to either bribe its way in or intensify discord where unrest will serve its long-term purpose. Xi seems to have been more influenced by Kautilya's Arthashastra, the ancient realist treatise on statecraft that advice saam, daan, dand and bhed for imperial rulers to manage their state.

Recent churnings bring to sharp focus the realities that India is faced with in its struggle to measure up to China and contain its revanchist and neo-colonial advances. A look at these simultaneous developments provides an idea of the scale of China's strategic game plan — logical, meticulous and swift.

It has been said that Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, which houses major CPEC infrastructure including the China-developed Gwadar deep water port, may eventually prove to be Beijing's greatest headache. China has pumped in more than $60 billion in mega infrastructure projects in the federally administered region that has been for decades the hotbed of an armed secessionist movement.

London-based Financial Times reported on Monday that China has been in "quiet talks" for more than five years with tribal separatist leaders and militants in Balochistan to insure their investment against subversive actions. One tribal leader was quoted as saying by FT that "many young men had been persuaded to lay down their weapons by the promise of financial benefits."

If true, this would fly in the face of China's claims that it "doesn't interfere in domestic politics" of other nations — a claim that it had recently repeated during the unfolding of Maldives crisis. China appears confident that it has been able to buy peace and subdue the Balochistan movement with bribes. Yao Jing, China's ambassador to Pakistan, was recently quoted by BBC Urdu as saying that Baloch militant organisations are no longer a threat to the CPEC.

China's increasing interference in Pakistan's domestic politics presents an additional challenge for India, as has recently been articulated by Naeem Akhtar, a minister with the Jammu and Kashmir government. In an interview to Indian Express, Akhtar pointed to China's game of stonewalling India on Masood Azhar to claim that Beijing has "adopted" Azhar and his terror group Jaish-e-Muhammad so that Pakistan may continue unabated its strategy of sub-conventional war against India.

“Unlike earlier, the great game is literally being played inside Kashmir… The Kashmir issue isn’t limited to the fight between India and Pakistan now. There is another major factor involved. It isn’t Pakistan alone, it is China too… Now it is one single front, circling around. From Bhutan to Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Valley to Jammu, Sri Lanka and Maldives, it is all one front. Pakistan and China aren’t separate,” he was quoted, as saying by the newspaper.

China's move to turn Pakistan into a 'client-state' and use it for counterbalancing India isn't new. What is, is the pace at which this seems to be happening. Again on Monday, the Pakistani senate approved a motion to declare Mandarin as an "official language", ostensibly to smoothen communication over CPEC, reported ANI.

The move isn't exactly to deepen "Pakistan-China relationship" as Islamabad power brokers have claimed but to deepen the "client-state" ties. Beijing is in no hurry to introduce Urdu as its "official language", for instance. China's steps in Balochistan, similarly, is less intended towards the development of the region and more towards securing its own interests and investments, another marker of a client-state relationship.

As Pakistani journalist Muhammad Akbar Notezai writes in The Diplomat, "There is also a deep sense of deprivation among the general population in Balochistan, who also seem largely uninterested in the unfolding development. The apathy can be explained by the conviction the locals will see little benefit from Chinese money."

News has also emerged from Islamabad that Pakistan has turned down cheaper loans from Japan because it no longer needs to borrow. There's little doubt on who would have influenced Pakistan—a nation reeling under Chinese debt—against taking Japanese money that had softer lending terms.

China pressuring Pakistan not to accept Japanese infrastructure lending.
Tells everything you need to know about China’s aims with Belt and Road. https://t.co/FogUmC4sLy

— Ely Ratner (@elyratner) February 19, 2018

China's coercive strategies around India are not limited to Pakistan. It recently sent a naval task force to the Maldives, which is undergoing a political turmoil, to flex its military muscle in India's backyard. The task force, according to an Australian newspaper, consists of "at least one modern destroyer, a frigate, an amphibious assault ship and a support tanker entered the Indian Ocean last week." The motive is to intensify its competition with India in the Indo-Pacific theatre and warn it against military intervention in Male.

A similar game is unfolding in Nepal where newly elected prime minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli has vowed to "deepen ties with China to get more leverage against India." For a start, he wants to revive the Chinese dam project that his predecessor had cancelled because "we can’t forget that we have two neighbours… We don’t want to depend on one country or have one option” according to South China Morning Post.

This isn't to say that New Delhi is under siege in its immediate neighbourhood from China but there's no denying the zero-sum nature of the Sino-Indian rivalry. In the short to medium term, this is set to intensify as India pushes back against Chinese hegemony and both nations compete for regional influence.

India's close civilisation integration with neighbours is both an advantage and a disadvantage. While it raises the costs for China in employing coercive diplomacy, it equally gives many of these debt-ridden infrastructure-hungry states the chance to play one giant against the other and secures for itself a better deal. Either way, Indian policy needs to be flexible. But above all, it needs to be alert to the Chinese threat. Apart from building on its maritime advantages over China and gradual accumulation of hard power, Indian strategic game needs to be less reactionary. It must achieve a direction and a purpose within the larger template of a grand, over-arching design. Indian economy presents some capacity constraints but those are temporal. The battle is won first in the mind.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 21 Feb 2018 09:03

Er - please pardon me - I cannot say on BRF what I said on Twitter - in the context of what those 3 Chinese ships would do in the Maldives.
https://twitter.com/bennedose/status/965877315270946817

More seriously (and this is a personal viewpoint, not a policy statement), I find that a lot of articles about Indian "nonreaction to apparent Maldivian requests and Chinese moves" remind me of my dog. I finish doing all the stuff I need to do at home - chores, feed the dog, let him out etc and then sit for a quiet read of the paper when the dog brings his favourite toy to me, prods me, nuzzles me, jumps on me etc. In other words I cannot do what I want. I have to react to him. All I need at this stage is an instruction from SHQ "Why don;t you play with him?"

So here China sets the tone - picks up toy, nuzzles and barks and we (India) are supposed to "play with them" because they feel like they want to play. wtf? Do we need to play at all? What's to play?

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 21 Feb 2018 09:12

shiv wrote:Er - please pardon me - I cannot say on BRF what I said on Twitter - in the context of what those 3 Chinese ships would do in the Maldives.
https://twitter.com/bennedose/status/965877315270946817

More seriously (and this is a personal viewpoint, not a policy statement), I find that a lot of articles about Indian "nonreaction to apparent Maldivian requests and Chinese moves" remind me of my dog. I finish doing all the stuff I need to do at home - chores, feed the dog, let him out etc and then sit for a quiet read of the paper when the dog brings his favourite toy to me, prods me, nuzzles me, jumps on me etc. In other words I cannot do what I want. I have to react to him. All I need at this stage is an instruction from SHQ "Why don;t you play with him?"

So here China sets the tone - picks up toy, nuzzles and barks and we (India) are supposed to "play with them" because they feel like they want to play. wtf? Do we need to play at all? What's to play?

Your point is well taken but we need to see all the options that are available to us.

Ultimately, better (hopefully!!) minds, elected and/or trained and experienced minds will take the call after due diligence.

Folks on the forum are "reacting" but the GoI has maintained a studied silence with no political hacks mouthing off about this, that and the other.

We don't have the big picture nor the multilateral/multinational inputs available to the GoI.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 21 Feb 2018 09:22

Maldives on a collision course with India - Meera Seinivasan & Suhasini Haidar, The Hindu

The Maldives looked set for a collision course with India on Tuesday, as the Majlis (Parliament) cleared an extension of the current state of emergency by 30 days, defying India’s expectation conveyed hours earlier.

According to an official statement from President Abdulla Yameen’s office, the Parliament’s National Security Committee approved the extension with additional amendments, including one stating that the emergency rule would apply only to those “alleged to have carried out illegal activities”, and not to “law abiding residents of, or visitors”.

On February 5, Mr. Yameen declared a state of emergency for 15 days, citing threats to “national security”. The move came after his government refused to implement a dramatic Supreme Court ruling delivered on February 1, which ordered the release of nine jailed Opposition leaders, including exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed, and the reinstatement of 12 expelled legislators.

Releasing a statement earlier on Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs said: “It is our expectation that the government of Maldives will not be seeking extension of the state of emergency so that the political process in Maldives can resume with immediate effect.”

Illegal, says Nasheed

The Opposition has termed the move illegal. Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Nasheed said the government cannot legally extend the state of emergency because it does not have the 43 legislators in the Majlis that must vote in favour of it. “The Constitution states that 43 MPs must be present during a vote on a matter of public compliance and a state of emergency is a matter of public compliance.”

By implication, Mr. Nasheed said, the emergency, or any extension to it, is illegal. “It also means that any actions taken by the government or security forces using emergency powers are illegal. “President Yameen is ruling down the barrel of a gun. There is zero legitimacy to anything he is doing,” said Mr. Nasheed, who had earlier sought Indian military intervention to resolve the problem in Male.

However, in an official tweet on Tuesday evening, the President’s office said: “It is unconstitutional to say that the state of emergency cannot be declared.”

‘Implement SC ruling’

While India is yet to indicate its strategy in responding to the ongoing political and constitutional crisis in its neighbourhood, New Delhi on Tuesday reiterated its earlier position and urged the Maldives to implement the SC ruling.

“It is important that Maldives quickly returns to the path of democracy and the rule of law so that the aspirations of Maldivian people are met and the concerns of the international community are assuaged,” it said in a statement.

The UN, the U.S., the U.K., the European Union, Australia and Canada, among others, earlier asked Mr. Yameen to comply with the ruling and ensure that rule of law prevails. Many nations have issued travel advisories directing citizens to avoid travelling to the Maldives.

Karu Jayasuriya, Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament, and the Chairman of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians, has also appealed to the Speaker of the Majlis to “immediately take steps to restore normalcy and respect for the rule of law in the country through dialogue”.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 21 Feb 2018 09:52

overall who owns what % of the luxury hotel sector in maldives ? footfalls must be surely hurting for 2 months now.

Neshant · Post by **Neshant** » 21 Feb 2018 10:35

Nothing a loan from China cannot make up.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 21 Feb 2018 11:09

Its a shooklaw piece. He has no sources that he can boast of in this govt, irrespective of his congi credentials.

Best to look for confirmation from other sources too.

Chinese warships return to South China Sea as Indian Navy continues heavy deployment around Maldives

Chinese warships return to South China Sea as Indian Navy continues heavy deployment around Maldives

Indian Navy sources say that a Chinese flotilla including a destroyer and a frigate had indeed crossed into the Indian Ocean through the Sunda Strait

Ajai Shukla, New Delhi, February 20, 2018.

A Chinese warship flotilla that had entered the Indian Ocean, reportedly heading for the Maldives Islands, has turned around and returned to the South China Sea, say highly credible Indian Navy sources.

On Tuesday, Reuters quoted Chinese website Sina.com to report that eleven Chinese warships had entered the Indian Ocean “amid a constitutional crisis in the tiny tropical island chain of the Maldives now under a state of emergency”, clearly suggesting gunboat diplomacy at work.
However, Indian Navy sources say that, while a Chinese flotilla, including a destroyer and a frigate, had indeed crossed into the Indian Ocean through the Sunda Strait, it turned around and returned to the South China Sea through the Lombok Strait.

The four straits of Malacca, Sunda, Lombok and Ombai Wetar are used by China’s People’s Liberation Army (Navy), or PLA(N), to cross between their bases in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.

That leaves the PLA(N) with three warships in the vicinity -- its routine deployment in the Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy escort duties. In addition to this “28th Anti-Piracy Escort Force” (APEF), as the three-vessel task force is called, three more PLA(N) warships that had formed the 27th APEF are currently visiting African ports.

The Indian Navy, meanwhile, continues maintaining a heavy presence of battle-ready warships in the Arabian Sea, including many close to the Maldives.

According to a navy announcement last Wednesday, “A tri-service maritime exercise, codenamed ‘Paschim Lehar’, commenced on the Western seaboard on 12 Feb[ruary 20]18. This exercise includes the participation of a large number of ships, submarines and aircraft from the Western Naval Command of the Indian Navy.”

The announcement also revealed the presence of “Eastern Naval Command, Indian Army, Indian Air Force and the Indian Coast Guard [units that are] also participating to build interoperability.”
In all, India has over 40 ships and submarines deployed in Exercise Paschim Lehar, and a similar number of combat aircraft.

If further signalling were needed of the ready availability of Indian military power, the Navy also announced that army amphibious forces – specialist units used to assault and capture island targets – were also participating in the on-going exercise.

Chinese warships return to SCS as Indian Navy continues heavy deployment
Contacted for comments, an Indian Navy spokesperson stated: “This is a routine training exercise that is taking place.It will last for a month.”

In simple strategic terms, India’s proximity to the Maldives lets it project far greater force around the archipelago than the PLA(N), for significantly longer durations.

The on-going constitutional crisis in the Maldives is a contest for influence between the pro-China President Abdulla Yameen, and his pro-India predecessor, Mohamed Nasheed, who is currently in exile in Sri Lanka.

New Delhi is concerned that the Maldives is gravitating into Beijing’s orbit, with Yameen signing up for the Belt and Road Initiative. There is worry that China could eventually build a naval base here.

Yameen has allowed Beijing to invest in a major port project in the Maldives. That prompted Nasheed to state that China was “buying up the Maldives”.

Yameen has responded with a political crackdown. After the Supreme Court ordered the release of jailed opposition members earlier this month, Yameen declared a 10-day state of emergency on February 5.

On Monday, Yameen sought parliamentary approval to extend the emergency for 30 days. However, in a press release on Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs tweeted: “It is our expectation that the Government of Maldives will not be seeking the extension of the State of Emergency and resume the political process with immediate effect.”

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 21 Feb 2018 11:14

6 PLAN vessels are still in the IOR ostensibly on anti- piracy duty.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 21 Feb 2018 13:25

+submarines

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 21 Feb 2018 16:45

Based in Djibouti for now
Jiwani will come up in ~ 5 yrs
Hambantota’s status is unclear. The Lankans have given the port to the chinese, but have they allowed PLAN to set up a base there?

kit · Post by **kit** » 21 Feb 2018 17:14

Gagan wrote:Based in Djibouti for now
Jiwani will come up in ~ 5 yrs
Hambantota’s status is unclear. The Lankans have given the port to the chinese, but have they allowed PLAN to set up a base there?

This is definitely more than a doklam redux. Could potentially set the floor for future engagement. Are the Americans waiting and watching to see how India deals with it ? Diego Garcia has more than ample firepower to deal with half of the Plan deployment .

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 21 Feb 2018 17:35

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ind ... 013836.cms
'Deeply dismayed' over extension of Emergency in Maldives: India

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 21 Feb 2018 18:24

When we discuss such things I am unable to under stand how our own analysis can go one millimetre beyond the wisdom of "If my aunt had a d--k she would have been my uncle. Let me explain my point

When someone says "Deploy the navy to do x, y, z - someone else says "China has a much bigger navy and can easily swamp us"
When someone says "Pour in money into the Maldives" - someone else says "China has much more money"
When someone says "Cut off aid"- someone else says "China will make that up in one millisecond"
When someone says "We have the strength and staying power with peninsular and Island bases"- someone else says - That is nothing - "China has Hambantota, Gwadar, Djibouti, Strategic lift transports blah blah blah. They will blow our decrepit old forces out of the water
When someone say "We should put troops in the Maldives"- someone else says "Oh we are useless. We are talkers. We do nothing. Unlike the Chinese"

To me - it sounds like our idea of strategic discourse is like Muharram in Shia Iran - painfully whipping ourselves till we bleed and weeping tears of pain and sorrow for a battle that was lost 1300 years ago.

After a stage the whipping gets so painful that I have to blurt it out. We have no options. What is there to discuss? When we start by declaring China as "Trillion dollar economy, supoerpower, equal to America" and "Indians are losers" - the tone of discussion is already set in stone. It is only a matter of shooting down anyone who dares to say anything outside what the funereal grieving tone of the debate sets.

JMT.

I apologize for the digression. I did not enter this thread till it reached page 15 or 16 and I am sorry I did. Will try to unfollow.

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 21 Feb 2018 19:18

shiv wrote:Er - please pardon me - I cannot say on BRF what I said on Twitter - in the context of what those 3 Chinese ships would do in the Maldives.
https://twitter.com/bennedose/status/965877315270946817

More seriously (and this is a personal viewpoint, not a policy statement), I find that a lot of articles about Indian "nonreaction to apparent Maldivian requests and Chinese moves" remind me of my dog. I finish doing all the stuff I need to do at home - chores, feed the dog, let him out etc and then sit for a quiet read of the paper when the dog brings his favourite toy to me, prods me, nuzzles me, jumps on me etc. In other words I cannot do what I want. I have to react to him. All I need at this stage is an instruction from SHQ "Why don;t you play with him?"

So here China sets the tone - picks up toy, nuzzles and barks and we (India) are supposed to "play with them" because they feel like they want to play. wtf? Do we need to play at all? What's to play?

Shiv ji, I hope you understand the anxiety here that we can't have PLAN or PLAAF 500km from Indian southern coast. So what you suggest India needs to do here? Or do you think chinese presence in Maldives is not something of a concern.

Bart S · Post by **Bart S** » 21 Feb 2018 20:12

^ Plus, we are a country that even as a modern state has a track record of making historic blunders and/or watching opportunities go by simply by inaction/inefficiency/corruption/cowardice/pseudo-morality by politicians and bureaucrats. So it's hardly surprising that people are worried.

Anxiety/fear (to an extent) is an essential factor in self-preservation, survival and success, so it should not simply be wished away or mocked.

tsarkar · Post by **tsarkar** » 21 Feb 2018 20:33

Singha wrote:the arab incursions into sindh...then takeover of kandahar and sindh...then guj and rajputana...then punjab and delhi....is a good case study when you lose military control of your near frontiers and border tracts through disunity and confusion and complacency regarding the threat potential.

once cheen is done dumping rocks and sand, maldivian bases will be 30 feet ASL and able to host everything from submarines to carriers.

do not come back and whine then, because you were asleep today.

Well said!

However if you look at the history of Maldives since independence, it has always been political chaos like Somalia with no rational political option. Maldives is also getting increasingly radicalised.

We need to ensure Maldivians sort their own shit rather than ourselves trying to clean them up. It's an impossible and thankless job like UN & US in Somalia that culminated in Black Hawk Down.

The best approach is to stay off but ensure Chinese or Pakistanis don't take any undue advantage of it and stay off India's backyard.

ShauryaT · Post by **ShauryaT** » 21 Feb 2018 21:13

Bart S wrote:^ Plus, we are a country that even as a modern state has a track record of making historic blunders and/or watching opportunities go by simply by inaction/inefficiency/corruption/cowardice/pseudo-morality by politicians and bureaucrats. So it's hardly surprising that people are worried.

Anxiety/fear (to an extent) is an essential factor in self-preservation, survival and success, so it should not simply be wished away or mocked.

Yes, but have some confidence that we have some competent leaders in place who are credible and have done a competent job. Have some confidence in our force structures and force leadership. I am convinced this government and IN will not allow PLAN, let alone a Pakistan to come and have a say in the Maldives. This is even presuming that the PLAN does intend to take such an aggressive step, which I am not convinced of. They are looking to create assets, sending a flotilla is a whole different game. I do not think the PLAN has the capability/skill to do so, even if they desired. But, even presuming they desire and are willing and are capable, I have ZERO doubt in our leaderships will and our forces capability to thwart such a venture. So, chill!!!!

Our MEA has already defined the red line and they have broken it. The minister in charge and I just love her is very competent, pro-active and understands Indian interests better than most here. We have a PM who is not afraid to act, when advised correctly. What is there to worry?

What tsarkar writes is true. That place is a mess. No point in just rushing in as long as key objectives are taken care of.

Rudradev · Post by **Rudradev** » 21 Feb 2018 21:31

shiv wrote:
When someone says "Deploy the navy to do x, y, z - someone else says "China has a much bigger navy and can easily swamp us"
When someone says "Pour in money into the Maldives" - someone else says "China has much more money"
When someone says "Cut off aid"- someone else says "China will make that up in one millisecond"
When someone says "We have the strength and staying power with peninsular and Island bases"- someone else says - That is nothing - "China has Hambantota, Gwadar, Djibouti, Strategic lift transports blah blah blah. They will blow our decrepit old forces out of the water
When someone say "We should put troops in the Maldives"- someone else says "Oh we are useless. We are talkers. We do nothing. Unlike the Chinese"

.

What is even more funny is that the herrows who do this sort of

rona-dhona are EXACTLY the same people who will get scornful at the notion that "Soft Power" is important.

Never realizing that their delusions about Maldives (among countless other things) are 400% the result of manipulation by Chinese Soft Power, they will scoff at the idea that India has or needs such a thing, because "Only Hard Power Matters In Today's World"

kit · Post by **kit** » 21 Feb 2018 23:31

One should hold the adage " the war is best won when not fought !" .. but if it comes to that the stick should be ready , i think India is just doing the same ., we are not exactly a trigger happy nation. As versus China they are worse , pompous show pieces , one would like to see how they fight ! ..so all those nay sayers looking at all those show pieces need to know how a war is fought ..and won . Its not just a matter of numbers .

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 21 Feb 2018 23:58

shiv wrote:To me - it sounds like our idea of strategic discourse is like Muharram in Shia Iran - painfully whipping ourselves till we bleed and weeping tears of pain and sorrow for a battle that was lost 1300 years ago.

Lol-wa.
Agree with you.
A lot of people seem to think that the Chinese have some intelligence, money or power and a super-duper great plan.
Those fools are bumbling along, cluelessly, making a hash job and thinking on the fly. The chinese have made several strategic mistakes, offended very important people unnecessarily, and flouted norms and made foes where things could have been done with friendship.

Their biggest strategic mistake is taking on Pakistan as a partner. That loser country's military will take them down with them.

chola · Post by **chola** » 22 Feb 2018 00:39

kit wrote:One should hold the adage " the war is best won when not fought !" .. but if it comes to that the stick should be ready , i think India is just doing the same ., we are not exactly a trigger happy nation.

That, Kit ji, is the crux of the problem. Cheen is the one nation we should be trigger happy with since their strategy is based on assiduously avoiding real combat and depending on their MIC, industrial base and printing press to expand influence on the ground.

Unless we initiate a fight, it will simply be more of the same thing that brought them to where they are today.

If we don’t go brass tacks then we can expect them to make inroads in the IOR. Who the hell doesn’t want money? We can tighten our belts and match the PRC dollar for dollar so that those nations have an alternative funding source or we throw the PRC plans off kilter by actually going to war over their money policy.

The sad truth is war rarely happens between major powers and even rarer with Cheen. So we need to be prepared for Chini inroads around the IOR.

But so what? Cheen itself is surrounded by US bases and many other potent hostile powers and grew to its present status. You mean to tell me some stupid “string of pearls” (it even sounds comic and effeminate) will somehow stop us from becoming a major power? Bull manure.

For any future scenario, use Occram’s razor. The simplest explanation of what the future will look like is more of the same. Chini money will buy up influence and ports around the IOR just like it did in SCS.

And it will have no effect on our growth and our trajectory will still be good.

If we want different trajectory, we need to break out of our Dharmic/Gandhian comfort zone and initiate war.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 22 Feb 2018 00:42

shiv wrote:When we discuss such things I am unable to under stand how our own analysis can go one millimetre beyond the wisdom of "If my aunt had a d--k she would have been my uncle. Let me explain my point

When someone says "Deploy the navy to do x, y, z - someone else says "China has a much bigger navy and can easily swamp us"
When someone says "Pour in money into the Maldives" - someone else says "China has much more money"
When someone says "Cut off aid"- someone else says "China will make that up in one millisecond"
When someone says "We have the strength and staying power with peninsular and Island bases"- someone else says - That is nothing - "China has Hambantota, Gwadar, Djibouti, Strategic lift transports blah blah blah. They will blow our decrepit old forces out of the water
When someone say "We should put troops in the Maldives"- someone else says "Oh we are useless. We are talkers. We do nothing. Unlike the Chinese"

To me - it sounds like our idea of strategic discourse is like Muharram in Shia Iran - painfully whipping ourselves till we bleed and weeping tears of pain and sorrow for a battle that was lost 1300 years ago.

After a stage the whipping gets so painful that I have to blurt it out. We have no options. What is there to discuss? When we start by declaring China as "Trillion dollar economy, supoerpower, equal to America" and "Indians are losers" - the tone of discussion is already set in stone. It is only a matter of shooting down anyone who dares to say anything outside what the funereal grieving tone of the debate sets.

JMT.

I apologize for the digression. I did not enter this thread till it reached page 15 or 16 and I am sorry I did. Will try to unfollow.

So true of the discourse even in the media not just here.
Nehruvian discourse has reduced us to impotent sanyasis who dream of world populated by our progeny.

And hakim, unfollow is on SM not here!

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 22 Feb 2018 03:38

The Maldives is NOT Somalia! It has largely been peaceful with the highest % of hotel occupancy and that too in the highest spending cat. in the world.Its rulers have been less than perfect, with an eye to feathering their own nests, most island resorts have the Maldivian politicos as owners,but slid off the democratic scale after Yameen arrived and ousted Nasheed.To stay in power he got Chin insurance which has a v.high premium, which requires one to let them into the stables?

Expecting the despot to behave like a democrat is unrealistic in the extreme.With his Chin backing and an incarcerated oppn.,all guests of the state now, and an India that can only weakly fart at him, Yameen can sleep safely at night.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 22 Feb 2018 07:15

Philip wrote:Is there definitive intel that they have turned back or a turn of deception? Had we sent a "protective" task force in the first place to sanitise the region, there would've been no task force attempting to sail to the Maldives.

Why is so easy to believe the whatever the Chinese say, and not what our own say? It's not just you, but a lot of people on this thread seem ascribe truthfulness to the Chinese(!) site that claimed their navy was in the Indian ocean, but no one bothered to ask where in the ocean? Turns out they were close to Indonesia and turned back from there itself. But we ended up becoming rudaalis and singing that Chinese are already here. To justify these songs, we are sceptial of what our own establishment says about the matter.

It's a big ocean, anyone can sail anywhere in international waters. There's only so much one can do about it. By all accounts in the public domain, India has done and is continuing to do what is needed to ensure outside players are not "fishing" in these troubled waters.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 22 Feb 2018 13:29

https://twitter.com/indiannavy/status/9 ... 7382774784
SpokespersonNavy
‏
Verified account

@indiannavy
Feb 20
#BridgesofFriendship Yoga Session with local Seychellian participation was organised to commemorate visit of 1TS Ships(INS Tir, Sujata & ICGS Sarathi) to Port Victoria, Seychelles @DefenceMinIndia @SpokespersonMoD @IndiaCoastGuard @moayush

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 22 Feb 2018 15:34

I asked not to dojbt our intel but whether it was diversionary tactic, used umpteen times in naval history.The Chins usually do not telegraph their future actions.

KL Dubey · Post by **KL Dubey** » 22 Feb 2018 21:06

Philip wrote:I asked not to dojbt our intel but whether it was diversionary tactic, used umpteen times in naval history.The Chins usually do not telegraph their future actions.

And neither do we, yes ? At the moment the latest news is that we have about 40 battle-ready ships + submarines and aircraft. China, US etc all know this. This force can be used at will as necessary.

KL Dubey · Post by **KL Dubey** » 22 Feb 2018 21:18

If we do go into the Maldives with an invasion, I think there is no need to beat around the bush. Simply annex it as a Union Territory in the best interests of India and the Maldivian population.

Sure, there will be some ruckus in the UN and any other forums where the Chinese and the Pawkees can drum up some noise. But soon it will be forgotten and there will be a new-found "don't-mess-with-these-guys" respect for us.

We should then proceed to dismantle the existing power framework and re-engineer the society. In a small and isolated territory like the Maldives, it's not that much work, really.

In fact, I would say it would be a great experimental laboratory and provide great experience for many of our goremint agencies,intelligence services, armed forces, and companies. The whole territory has only 400,000 people who are not even united - they are separated and isolated on individual islands. It is basically just an overgrown version of Lakshadweep and is a very small and easily isolated territory.

The economic bottomline, everyone there is interested in keeping tourism going. So there is no question of it becoming an Afghanistan or an Iraq.

Amoghvarsha · Post by **Amoghvarsha** » 22 Feb 2018 21:21

KL Dubey wrote:If we do go into the Maldives with an invasion, I think there is no need to beat around the bush. Simply annex it as a Union Territory in the best interests of India and the Maldivian population.

Sure, there will be some ruckus in the UN and any other forums where the Chinese and the Pawkees can drum up some noise. But soon it will be forgotten and there will be a new-found "don't-mess-with-these-guys" respect for us.

We should then proceed to dismantle the existing power framework and re-engineer the society. In a small and isolated territory like the Maldives, it's not that much work, really.

In fact, I would say it would be a great experimental laboratory and provide great experience for many of our goremint agencies,intelligence services, armed forces, and companies. The whole territory has only 400,000 people who are not even united - they are separated and isolated on individual islands. It is basically just an overgrown version of Lakshadweep and is a very small and easily isolated territory.

The economic bottomline, everyone there is interested in keeping tourism going. So there is no question of it becoming an Afghanistan or an Iraq.

Annexe Maldives? The clamouring will reach the heavens. Rather keep a Bhutan like relation and place a division of IA on Male.

KL Dubey · Post by **KL Dubey** » 22 Feb 2018 21:36

Amoghvarsha wrote:Annexe Maldives? The clamouring will reach the heavens. Rather keep a Bhutan like relation and place a division of IA on Male.

Let it reach the heavens. I am sure there are no Chinese and Pawkee supporters there.

If there was a "what to do about your small neighboring countries" manual, it would surely prescribe different treatment for Bhutan and Maldives.

Bhutan is a friendly and internally stable country where the main threat is from a third party and both countries share the same view. So indeed, we have a military presence there but no annexation (although I think a voluntary accession like Sikkim will likely occur in future).

Maldives is - as of now - a hostile country which is trying to assert "independence" by bringing in a third player. The "textbook" case pertaining to this situation is the USA annexation of Hawaii. At the time the USA was not a "superpower". 120 years down the road, it is nearly impossible to find a Hawaiian who thinks being part of USA is a bad idea.

ShauryaT · Post by **ShauryaT** » 23 Feb 2018 01:00

India public statements 'unhelpful'; Maldives Foreign Ministry
Nice acrobatics. They know the squeeze is coming!!

The Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released a statement expressing disappointment over the public statements issued by the government of India citing they "ignore the facts and ground realities."

The ministry on Thursday issued the statement urging the south-Asian neighbor to refrain from implicating the government of Maldives in its recent decision to extend the state of emergency to 45 days.

"The assertion by the Government of India that the extension of the State of Emergency by the People’s Majlis was unconstitutional is a clear distortion of facts, which ignore the Constitution and Laws of the Maldives," the statement read.

Foreign Ministry statement had furthermore explained that incumbent president Abdulla Yameen declared state of emergency by the powers vested in him under Article 253 of Maldives Constitution, "pertaining to a Constitutional Crisis, and an imminent threat to national security, upon the advice of the National Security Council."

Furthermore the Maldives Supreme Court had confirmed the emergency extension as valid on February 21, while the parliament had "provided relief by lifting some of the restrictions imposed on Constitutional Articles under the State of Emergency and by imposing the State of Emergency only upon individuals alleged to have carried out illegal activities and in the places they stayed."

Following the extension to state of emergency, People's Majilis (local parliament) had decided to refer the issue to Maldives apex court for advisory opinion under Article 95 of Constitution. Following this the top-court had issued an order to " implement the State of Emergency, till the Court issues a verdict on the issue."

Foreign Ministry's statement had also placed assurance the ongoing state of emergency will not hinder the daily lives of the Maldives citizen or the expatriates employed in various local corporations. The statement added that there were no restrictions to the common citizens and the government assures protection to the people.

"There is no doubt that the Maldives is experiencing one of the most difficult periods in the history of the nation. It is therefore important that friends and partners in the international community, including India, refrain from any actions that could hinder resolving the situation facing the country," the statement read further.

The statement concluded with the Maldives government once again ensuring the state was willing to work alongside international community as well as address any concerns they may have.

Maldives has been at the throes intensifying political upheaval since the apex court ordered the release of as many as nine political dissidents including former president Mohamed Nasheed.

After much debacle by president Yameen Abdul Gayoom to convince top-court to rescind part of the order that cited release of political prisoners failed, a state of emergency was declared on February 5, temporarily suspending more than 20 constitutional rights and several judicature rights.

Immediately afterwards former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and top-court judge Ali Hameed as well as the Judicial Administrator were detained and transported to prison.

Former president Gayoom is prosecuted with charges of attempting to overthrow a constitutional government with several other charges pressed while both Chief Justice Saeed and judge Hameed are tried for accepting bribe and attempting to overthrow the government.

Before the initially declared emergency concluded on last Tuesday, president Yameen had requested for the extension of emergency by 30 additional days.

A special parliament sitting was called out for voting, however members of the opposition boycotted the sitting calling the extension was unconstitutional. President Yameen did not imminently receive approval from the parliament for his request as there was a shortfall with the constitutionally mandated quorum.

According to Article 87 (b) voting on any matter requiring compliance by citizens shall only be undertaken when more than half of the total membership of the People’s Majlis are present at the sitting at which the matter is voted upon, of Constitution means that the motion needed a minimum of 43 pro-votes.

After efforts to convince some of the opposition MPs to attend Tuesday's sitting failed, the parliament with only 38 government MPs voted to extend the state of emergency. Speaker Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed before the vote had announced that only 20 votes in favour would be needed to extend the emergency.

ShauryaT · Post by **ShauryaT** » 23 Feb 2018 02:09

Watch this space as India squeezes.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/after-m ... ge-1815619

"We are deeply dismayed that the government of Maldives has extended the State of Emergency for a further 30 days. The manner in which the extension of the State of Emergency was approved by the Majlis in contravention of the Constitution of Maldives is also a matter of concern," India's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.