India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

[V_Raman]

I think he did snorkeling. But even that is cool

[vera_k]

Never heard of any PM in india or the world doing scuba diving.. !!

Rajiv and Sonia went scuba diving in Lakshadweep in the 80s. Tourism was supposed to be promoted after that trip.

[Manish_P]

..
Never heard of any PM in india or the world doing scuba diving.. !!

Well old Vlad is not a PM but....

[Cyrano]

Oh man, the speed with which Bharat ke log gave a memorably painful and long lasting wedgie to jihadis from Maldives was incredible ! Seems their leader immediately took a plane and went to Beijing to get his ass stitched.

[chetak]

looks like the gaming that muizzu was trying to do against India has just exploded in his face

The Global Times editorial stated "It also respects the friendly and cooperative relationship between the Maldives and India, fully aware of the importance for Male to maintain good relations with New Delhi. Beijing has never asked Male to reject New Delhi because of the conflicts between China and India, nor does it view cooperation between the Maldives and India as unfriendly or a threat."

meaning, just like in srilanka, we will continue to own the buggers, but India needs to keep paying them the money and also keep bailing them out.....

Chinese State Media Asks India To Be 'Open-Minded' On Maldives Row, Offers Trilateral Cooperation While Muizzu Is In China

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-ne ... 4-amp.html

China on India-Maldives row: ‘Never asked them to reject New Delhi’

Jan 08, 2024

China on India-Maldives Row: China has always treated Maldives as an equal partner and respected its sovereignty, the editorial by Global Times said.
China's state media referred to New Delhi's diplomatic row with the Male in an editorial as Maldives' president Mohamed Muizzu landed in Beijing to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and sign bilateral agreements. As Maldives government distanced itself from the "insulting" comments by the three ministers on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Lakshadweep after which they were suspended, China called for an "open-minded" approach to looking at South Asian issues.

[hnair]

PM Modi was doing snorkeling and not scuba diving as many are commenting above. This was the same mistake that the wannabe jihadi-bibi minister of Maldives did when she claimed Modi was scuba diving using a floatation vest. In snorkeling, you use a floatation vest to float on surface with minimal effort since the focus is on peering down into the undersea sights for prolonged periods. Usually you use only your hands to move slowly to capture the views without disturbing sea creatures caused by leg splashing

Snorkeling is a highly scalable tourist activity because it does not need infra like oxygen tank fillers, dive boats with emergency kits or certifications for operators. Also it can done by a wide age demographic from toddlers to nonagenerians. Scuba is a lot more involved and is a category of tourism that is very niche. The most challenging from a personal view point is free-diving using a snorkel, but without a floatation device. But no security detail would allow a head of state to do that!

PM Modi made the right choice in picking up snorkeling since it can potentially appeal to a wide demographic of Indians

[Cyrano]

Right!
The only risk of snorkeling with a flotation vest is getting carried away by the current, sometimes they are strong enough to take you out into the sea, and you can't swim against a strong current despite the vest.

Usually coral reefs which are full of marine life, form barriers and lagoons that keep sharks out.

So all it needs is a guide on the boat to keep an eye on the snorkelers, equipment is cheap and nearly anyone can do it.

[srin]

looks like the gaming that muizzu was trying to do against India has just exploded in his face

The Global Times editorial stated "It also respects the friendly and cooperative relationship between the Maldives and India, fully aware of the importance for Male to maintain good relations with New Delhi. Beijing has never asked Male to reject New Delhi because of the conflicts between China and India, nor does it view cooperation between the Maldives and India as unfriendly or a threat."

meaning, just like in srilanka, we will continue to own the buggers, but India needs to keep paying them the money and also keep bailing them out.....

Chinese State Media Asks India To Be 'Open-Minded' On Maldives Row, Offers Trilateral Cooperation While Muizzu Is In China

Translation: Without Indian tourists, there is no way the Maldives economy can repay the loans, so keep Indians in good humour

[chetak]

Tujhko Mirchi Lagi Toh Main Kya Karoon

09:35 : Maldivian High Commissioner reached at the MEA in Delhi's South Block.

09:40 : Ibrahim Shaheeb, Maldives HC exits the MEA in Delhi's South Block.

That was quick. Body language. Reminds us of Canadian envoy.

WATCH VIDEO

[Cyrano]

Jokes apart, a more detailed analysis of what's been going on there ...

https://youtu.be/SGRHqgFTcHg

Not sure I agree with his suggestion to pull out our troops though, the PLA will get in there in a jiffy.

[chetak]

Jokes apart, a more detailed analysis of what's been going on there ...

https://youtu.be/SGRHqgFTcHg

Not sure I agree with his suggestion to pull out our troops though, the PLA will get in there in a jiffy.

Cyrano ji,

AFAIK, our "troops" number 70 odd people, two helos and one fixed wing aircraft .

these platforms are being used to provide, almost exclusively, medevac services for these ungrateful jihadis and the tourists who fell ill

These 70 odd guys are the support staff and pilots and may be a few trainees

When pressed, the GOI hinted that, if push came to shove, they would leave along with the aviation assets and the jihadis were none too happy with this stance

[sanjaykumar]

I could never countenance leaving people without medical care, but they can fly their people to Peking, Mecca or Islamabad.

[Manish_P]

...
Translation: Without Indian tourists, there is no way the Maldives economy can repay the loans, so keep Indians in good humour

In short, use taqiyya like before

[chetak]

...
Translation: Without Indian tourists, there is no way the Maldives economy can repay the loans, so keep Indians in good humour

In short, use taqiyya like before

maniish ji,

on a per capita basis, jihadi outfits like ISIS do their highest rates of recruitment from maldives


why should we support them at all

[hnair]

The jitters in l’dives is not just due to tapering off of Indian tourists. The first issue is investment in resorts. Indians (entrepreneurs and fund managers) use a lot of complex transactions to manage the whole Maldives resort economy at the highest levels. Investors ranging from Blackstone to sleazy politicians (and even the Russian mafia famiglia) trust the Indian investor pipeline. No one will touch Maldives’ offer for investments if there is no Indian management. Due to the corrosive nature of the environment in the islands, the Injuns virtually replace all fittings of a resort every year and they usually use old Soviet landing crafts etc for larger containers etc. All that investment is usually routed out of Singapore and Mauritius because, well, anything goes there unlike India and also tax benefits. The local emirs all maintains bank accounts in the above two places for their hafta payments to not create trouble at the atolls. Then there is the whole labour contracting for locals to do janitorial jobs in each atoll.

Good luck for China to replace that whole complex ecosystem with their boorish overseas operators who are known to have zero understanding of local cultures and squeeze out emirs, piss off the euro/ruskie mobs and cram their blue collar types after declaring loudly that “locals are too stupid, so Chinese”

[krithivas]

Notwithstanding the offensive statement of the Maldivian hoorie - Looks to me that China is jockeying, or will jockey to be the savior of Maldivians. Now that besides Indian tourists, business is also cancelling the Island. Remember the Hritik Roshan episode and Nepal which provided China another opening to enter Nepal?

[V_Raman]

With all these dependency - what gives them the confidence to antagonize india? same pooch for SL as well. is it about india not showing their aukat often enough? or this is like 2-brothers feuding and the bigger brother has their hands tied in what they can do?

[Manish_P]

..
on a per capita basis, jihadi outfits like ISIS do their highest rates of recruitment from maldives

why should we support them at all

Chetak ji, perhaps to have our own strand of pearls in the necklace...

I have always felt we should get land (and build our bases) in exchange for our support when these two-bit ungrateful folk are up s#$t creek and looking for paddles.

We missed it during the Bangladesh war, we missed it during the Sri Lankan belly up and we missed it with the Maldives all those decades ago.

I am sure that within a decade or so the Maldivians will go broke and beg for our support.

And I am sure that even that time we will follow our SOP and rush to give aid to those ungrateful wretches.

The only difference is that with global warming the Maldives might not have any land left to offer anyone and instead would want to squat in India alongwith the Bangladeshi and the rohingya jihadis.

[drnayar]

With all the global warming wonder how long Maldives would even exist !

2050 !

[chetak]

With all the global warming wonder how long Maldives would even exist !
2050 !

drnayar ji,

hope and pray like hell.

for all these jihadi scum, Indian is the destination of choice post global warming rise in ocean levels

beedi "intellectuals" have even declared India as their "lebensraum" and a right they will try and enforce.

Already, millions of beedis have crossed over

[chetak]

..
on a per capita basis, jihadi outfits like ISIS do their highest rates of recruitment from maldives

why should we support them at all

Chetak ji, perhaps to have our own strand of pearls in the necklace...

I have always felt we should get land (and build our bases) in exchange for our support when these two-bit ungrateful folk are up s#$t creek and looking for paddles.

We missed it during the Bangladesh war, we missed it during the Sri Lankan belly up and we missed it with the Maldives all those decades ago.

I am sure that within a decade or so the Maldivians will go broke and beg for our support.

And I am sure that even that time we will follow our SOP and rush to give aid to those ungrateful wretches.

The only difference is that with global warming the Maldives might not have any land left to offer anyone and instead would want to squat in India alongwith the Bangladeshi and the rohingya jihadis.

Manish ji,


India's response to the cheen string of pearls encirclement was the diamond necklace.

maldives is part of that strategy....and they are also part of the OBOR.

somalia with her mercenaries and pirates available on order, is fairly close by, as are the crucial maritime routes of international lanes of shipping with the potential to throttle our trade, energy security, and commerce. cheen is still trying to neutralize the malacca trap by introducing a potential choke point... to neutralize India's hold and dominance over the malacca straits

Maldives sits astride key international shipping lanes in the heart of the Indian Ocean with the very real threat of affecting a major SLOCs of strategic and crucial commercial interest to India's economy, energy security, and sovereignty in particular, and a significant portion of the global trade in general.

The IMEC was an enterprise that came out of left field and has the potential to upset a lot of regional applecarts apart from tanking crucial OBOR investments and virtually neutralizing them. IMVHO, it was enough of a threat for these guys (cheen, eyeraan, turki, and qatar ++) to pay off hamas to attack israel and tank the IMEC by hobbling the saudis-israel détente

[Roop]

beedi "intellectuals" have even declared India as their "lebensraum" and a right they will try and enforce.

Already, millions of beedis have crossed over.

So beedies are the new Rohingyas, i.e. the actual "Rohingya threat" is not Ro's but beedies?

[chetak]

beedi "intellectuals" have even declared India as their "lebensraum" and a right they will try and enforce.

Already, millions of beedis have crossed over.

So beedies are the new Rohingyas, i.e. the actual "Rohingya threat" is not Ro's but beedies?

Roop ji,

the rohingyas have always been a threat. Now their numbers, once a mere trickle, have increased exponentially. The beedis, have, for many decades now, been assiduously pushing the idea of "lebensraum" to justify their illegal cross border migration agenda. The impact was recently seen in the rohingyas led attack on the ED officers in bengal in a jihadi majority locality. the beedis and rohingyas may not really like each other but they usually band together for mutual benefit and security, and why not, because both can be traced back to the same basic stock of the bengalee jihadi

As far as the threat is concerned, what is the difference between the beedis and rohingyas, both are jihadis, both hate India and Indians, and both are violent freeloading scum burdening the Indian economy, and consuming scarce resources better deployed to help our own citizens. It is a distinction without a difference...

the rohingya ingress via the beedi border is lesser as compared to the routes that have been made available to them via the NE, virtually guaranteeing safe passage to the Indian heartland aided by the NE based specific antinational and anti Indian based entities funded by the BIF.

The GoI is now thinking of blocking free movement and building fences across the hitherto regions of the Indian border.

Why has it taken us more than 70 odd years to even thing of closing off the border by fencing it. The abrahamics have kept it open for facilitate demographic changes to enforce a different culture and change the very nature of the region so as to enforce domination using the power of "legitimate" political muscle

[VinodTK]

As 'Boycott Maldives' trends online, India plans new airport for Lakshadweep

[Sabyasachi]

Developing Lakshadweep won't be an easy task. The reasons are in its demography which can be easily NGOed by pandering to their religious sensitivities. Not to mention mainstream opposition parties sitting in ambush to fuel the would-be fire.

To out compete Maldives GOI has to almost create a state withing a state with probably new constitutional amendments that goes beyond it being a UT. If not that radical then SEZ like provisions has to be made using couple of islands exclusive for tourism, hotels etc, run by private players. On main land India a lot land is being acquired by big hotel brands. There must a sizeable presence of many of these brands and investment in connectivity for it to start attracting tourists.

Till then we can ignore that Chinese pet and deny him free publicity; good, bad, ugly notwithstanding.

[Sachin]

The reasons are in its demography which can be easily NGOed by pandering to their religious sensitivities.

I feel, with or without Maldives needling us, GoI (and BJP) have a very sound plan for Lakshadweep. About two years back there were major changes introduced in the islands. One was the shutting down of certain establishments like government butcheries which were loss making. Also the shipment of essentials were also shifted to Mangalore port, rather than the ones in Kerala. Kerala commies and other "seculars" had tried to play the religion card, and tried a Kerala-Lakshadweep Bhai..bhai dance drama. But GoI threw the rule books at them and started managing the island's affairs like that is done for a regular Union territory.

So religious hegemony of the Religion of Peace in the islands is now getting challenged. A few changes like entry permits to visit the Island, or need of a local sponsor need to go. Get some good resorts etc there with liquor allowed, Lakshadweep will become just like another Andamans. So far, GoI has not budged with the demands of the peacefools.

[sanjayc]

The peacefuls are only 65,000 in Lakshadweep. All of them can be easily relocated to Karanataka or Kerala by acquiring their land and giving compensation. This will be much better than mosques blaring Azaan five times a day over five-star hotels. The islands can then be developed on the lines of las vegas

[Ashokk]

Maldivian President Muizzu Asks China To Send More Tourists As Indians Cancel Reservations Amid Diplomatic Dispute

During his visit to China, Muizzu referred to China as the Maldives' "closest" ally and praised the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects, emphasising their significant impact on Maldivian infrastructure.

Despite the diplomatic row, Muizzu urged China to enhance tourism flows, expressing a desire to regain China as the country's top tourist market.

[chetak]

@ANI

Kalaburagi, Karnataka |

On the row over Maldives MP's post on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge says, "After Narendra Modi came to power he is taking everything personally.

At the international level, we should keep a good relationship with our neighbours...We should act according to time...We can not change our neighbours..."

the famiglia chose their puppets & muppets well.

[bala]

A more balanced view of Maldives and the recent tilt towards China is presented. The realities are otherwise and maldives will have to lump it and face the consequences. The entire population is around 6 lakh and only 2.4 lakh voted and Muizzu won by margin of 20 K votes. Maldive's area of all islands is piddly around 1/5 of Delhi in total. They require water, fuel, medicines and more. Many Indians own infrastructure and hospitality industry is also controlled by them. The islands are subject to weather conditions which include flooding, winds, etc.

In Jaipur Dialogues, Lt Gen P. R. Shankar explains.. with markings of all bases in the region

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ-Q2zvH8wY

[g.sarkar]

Very nicely explained:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP80HWLhTJI
INDIA आउट वाले मालदीव को भारत ने किया गेट आउट- चीन सन्न | #praarabdh #maldives #BoycottMaldives
......
Gautam
The presenter has used sam, dam, danda and bhed to explain the Maldive situation.

[chetak]

Maldives asks India to withdraw troops by 15th March at high-level core group meeting of the two countries in Male


https://www.businesstoday.in/india/stor ... 2024-01-14

[hgupta]

And GoI's response should be stationing more troops in Maldives without any further ado.

[RCase]

And GoI's response should be stationing more troops in Maldives without any further ado.

When 80 ragtag guys from Sri Lanka were able to overwhelm this country, I am sure a deployment of Indian troops can do a 'Crimea' on Maldives.
China is able to do a 9-dash line and flex its muscle in the SCS. India should do a similar claim to assimilate these islands into its territory. With a population of less than a million, a demographic change can be engineered to flush out the jihadis.

It is high time that India started making territorial expansion and quit the cliche of not coveting other lands. Having the land in possession gives more geo strategic options than protesting our helplessness. Just imagine having Gwadar, Maldives, SL, Nepal, Bhutan and parts of BD near the chicken's neck as well as Chittagong port and not to mention GB and POK. Opens up a lot of possibilities regarding connectivity and security.

The world shuts up and parrots support for One-China and puts up with its insane claims. Russia annexes Crimea and now everyone is reconciled to accepting that Ukraine will be dismembered. Countries like US have territories in far flung places like Diego Garcia, Gaum etc. France in Polynesia and islands off Africa, UK still has territories all over the world.

[Haresh]

Let them drown

https://www.nrc.no/perspectives/2017/wh ... re-heroes/

[drnayar]

we need to chill. GOI I suspect is just laughing and going through the motions of vasaudaivaku..etc etc ..there are just too many options with india to cook miuzzu properly..they still haven't decided whether it should be medium rare or well done.. his alacrity in getting those China deals signed shows how short a slelf life he has left post india tamasha...there is going to be some full scale entertainment

[g.sarkar]

https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/india-shou ... ce-4671859
Opinion: India Should Let Maldives Learn The Cost Of A Chinese Embrace
Harsh V. Pant
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has made it clear that he has no intention of bringing Delhi-Male ties from the edge of a precipice. In fact, he has doubled down with a rhetorical escalation after his return from China. Even as his ministers were passing derogatory remarks against the Indian Prime Minister, Muizzu, during his five-day state visit to China last week, described China one of its "closest allies and development partners" and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects as "the most significant infrastructure projects witnessed in Maldivian history." After coming back from China, he launched a veiled attack on India by suggesting that "we [the Maldives] may be small, but that doesn't give you the license to bully us." And then came the ultimatum from his government that New Delhi withdraw its military presence from the archipelago nation before March 15.
In some ways, none of this should have come as a surprise. Muizzu had campaigned on an "India Out" platform and had been a votary of strong ties with China. After taking over the Presidency of the Maldives in November last year, he had called for the withdrawal of Indian troops which are around 80 in number, primarily positioned there for humanitarian and disaster relief as well as to maintain and operate two rescue and reconnaissance helicopters and a Dornier aircraft gifted by India to the Maldives. Muizzu has tried to mobilise his domestic political base by targeting India and has found support among Islamic hardliners.
In an apparent snub to India, he decided to first visit Turkey and then China for bilateral engagements. His government decided not to renew a pact for a hydrographic survey of the Maldivian seawaters with the Indian Navy and did not participate in the Colombo Security Conclave last December, in which it is a member state along with India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius.
During his China visit, the two nations signed a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and Muizzu exhorted China to try to emerge as the number one market for the Maldives by sending more tourists. He underlined his administration's commitment to the quick implementation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed with China, a pact that this predecessor President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was reluctant to implement. And at a time when a large part of the world is getting disillusioned with the BRI and China's own economy is facing headwinds, Muizzu sang paeans to the BRI projects and their importance for the Maldivian economy.
Through all of this, New Delhi's official reaction to Muizzu's provocations has been sober and mature. In fact, it was at the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Muizzu on the margins of the COP28 World Climate Action Summit in Doha that a high-level committee was formed to try to find a compromise. India kept its cool even when the ministers in the Muizzu government made derogatory remarks against the Indian Prime Minister and social media blew up. And recently External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asserted that "politics is politics: and it cannot be guaranteed that in every country, every day, everybody will support us or agree with us".
The strategic importance of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean makes Male significant for Indian interests. Historical and cultural ties between the two peoples further reinforces this relationship where India has come to the aid of the Maldives in the spirit of its neighborhood first approach. And like all nations in South Asia and the wider Indian Ocean region, it is also well-accepted in New Delhi that China will be a key economic player for most nations. Often these nations will play Beijing against New Delhi and vice versa in order to get the best possible deals for them. Unlike China, India is often part of the domestic political landscape in most of its neighbours, thereby suffering from an inherent disadvantage.
.......
Gautam

[drnayar]

https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/india-shou ... ce-4671859
Opinion: India Should Let Maldives Learn The Cost Of A Chinese Embrace
Harsh V. Pant
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has made it clear that he has no intention of bringing Delhi-Male ties from the edge of a precipice. In fact, he has doubled down with a rhetorical escalation after his return from China. Even as his ministers were passing derogatory remarks against the Indian Prime Minister, Muizzu, during his five-day state visit to China last week, described China one of its "closest allies and development partners" and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects as "the most significant infrastructure projects witnessed in Maldivian history." After coming back from China, he launched a veiled attack on India by suggesting that "we [the Maldives] may be small, but that doesn't give you the license to bully us." And then came the ultimatum from his government that New Delhi withdraw its military presence from the archipelago nation before March 15.
In some ways, none of this should have come as a surprise. Muizzu had campaigned on an "India Out" platform and had been a votary of strong ties with China. After taking over the Presidency of the Maldives in November last year, he had called for the withdrawal of Indian troops which are around 80 in number, primarily positioned there for humanitarian and disaster relief as well as to maintain and operate two rescue and reconnaissance helicopters and a Dornier aircraft gifted by India to the Maldives. Muizzu has tried to mobilise his domestic political base by targeting India and has found support among Islamic hardliners.
In an apparent snub to India, he decided to first visit Turkey and then China for bilateral engagements. His government decided not to renew a pact for a hydrographic survey of the Maldivian seawaters with the Indian Navy and did not participate in the Colombo Security Conclave last December, in which it is a member state along with India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius.
During his China visit, the two nations signed a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and Muizzu exhorted China to try to emerge as the number one market for the Maldives by sending more tourists. He underlined his administration's commitment to the quick implementation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed with China, a pact that this predecessor President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was reluctant to implement. And at a time when a large part of the world is getting disillusioned with the BRI and China's own economy is facing headwinds, Muizzu sang paeans to the BRI projects and their importance for the Maldivian economy.
Through all of this, New Delhi's official reaction to Muizzu's provocations has been sober and mature. In fact, it was at the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Muizzu on the margins of the COP28 World Climate Action Summit in Doha that a high-level committee was formed to try to find a compromise. India kept its cool even when the ministers in the Muizzu government made derogatory remarks against the Indian Prime Minister and social media blew up. And recently External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asserted that "politics is politics: and it cannot be guaranteed that in every country, every day, everybody will support us or agree with us".
The strategic importance of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean makes Male significant for Indian interests. Historical and cultural ties between the two peoples further reinforces this relationship where India has come to the aid of the Maldives in the spirit of its neighborhood first approach. And like all nations in South Asia and the wider Indian Ocean region, it is also well-accepted in New Delhi that China will be a key economic player for most nations. Often these nations will play Beijing against New Delhi and vice versa in order to get the best possible deals for them. Unlike China, India is often part of the domestic political landscape in most of its neighbours, thereby suffering from an inherent disadvantage.
.......
Gautam

For Miuzzi chap., its a quid pro quo to the Chinese for getting to power and selling out ..just like Rajapakshas., doesn't matter if he does not come back to power., he would gotten enough for a cushy retired life, its the average Maldivians who is going to suffer much like the Sri Lankans.

off note., just look at the voter turnout and percentage of voting win

[chetak]

@timesofindia

A 13-year-old child died in the Maldives because of a delay in providing him treatment that was caused by the alleged reluctance of the Maldivian government to use Indian choppers.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/wor ... s?from=mdr

[Yagnasri]

Better take back all the facilities and shift our people out of this Jihadi place. If people suffer, let them. We need not worry about them. If we keep our people there, they will be blamed in all kinds of ways in a typical Jihadi fashion. Why have we taken any blame?