Maldives foreign land ownership reform bill is approved

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen has approved a law passed by parliament on Wednesday which allows foreigners to own land for the first time.


Up until now the constitution prohibited foreign ownership of any part of Maldivian territory.

But now foreigners will be allowed to buy land provided they invest more than $1bn and provided that 70% of it is reclaimed from the Indian Ocean.

Critics fear the move could enable China to set up bases in the Maldives.

The government has denied this, saying it wants foreign investment on a commercial basis.

It says that foreign investors will be able to buy 10% of the 298 square km (115 square miles) of naturally occurring land that make up the the Maldives.

It hopes that the move will attract offshore investors into special economic zones set up by President Yameen to make the economy less reliant on tourism.

But opposition MPs fear that the measure could enable China to establish bases in the strategically important Islamic republic, which lies within important international east-west shipping routes.

Correspondents say that any Chinese move into the Maldives is certain to be viewed suspiciously by India, which considers the Maldives archipelago to be within its sphere of influence.

"We can't ignore the fact there is a cold war brewing between India and China," Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party MP Eva Abdulla told the AFP news agency.

But Vice President Ahmed Adeeb rejected concern over the move, pointing out that it had been done to generate foreign investment.

"We are not going to sell land to other countries, whether it's China or Saudi Arabia," he was quoted as saying by Minivan News on Thursday.

The Maldives comprises thousands of tiny coral islands located across the equator.

It has endured considerable political unrest since its first democratically elected president, Mohamed Nasheed, was overthrown in a coup in February 2012.

There have been frequent street protests in the capital Male since Mr Nasheed was convicted earlier this year on terrorism charges.
Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33638516

Maldives law 'selling' foreigners islands stokes Delhi's fears of rising Chinese role

With anyone investing $1bn now able to own land in perpetuity, concerns are growing that the Maldives will become the focus of an Indian Ocean cold war

A new law allowing foreigners to own land on the Maldives, the island nation known for luxury tourism, has sharpened regional competition for influence over one of the busiest oceans in the world.

On Thursday Abdulla Yameen, the controversial president of the Maldives, approved a law allowing foreign ownership of land in the country for the first time, triggering concern in Delhi over a possible opportunity for China to extend its reach in the Indian Ocean region.

Dozens of foreign companies already run luxury resorts on islands that they lease from the government of the honeymoon islands for a maximum of 99 years.

The law would allow foreigners who invest more than $1bn (£650m) to own land in perpetuity, provided 70% of it is reclaimed from the sea.

India has watched warily as the Maldives, which held its first free elections in 2008 after more than three decades of autocratic rule, has tilted towards China in recent years.

The two emerging Asian powers are battling for influence in the region, with Delhi concerned at what it sees as aggressive moves by Beijing in what it considers its backyard.

India won the most recent round of manoeuvring when President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka was ousted in a surprise defeat in January. Rajapaksa had increasingly looked to China for investment and diplomatic support. The new Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena, has shifted Sri Lanka’s policy back towards Delhi.

The Maldives have also seen competition. An Indian company had a major contract to extend the existing airport cancelled, while the Chinese are helping to build a crucial $300m road link between the airport and the capital, Malé. India was also closer to the former president and current opposition leader Mohammed Nasheed, who was ousted in 2012 and is currently under house arrest.

Yameen went out of his way to reassure India in an address to the nation. “The Maldivian government has given assurances to the Indian government and our neighbouring countries as well to keep the Indian Ocean a demilitarised zone,” the president was quoted as saying by the local Minivan News website.

Yameen said the foreign policy of the Maldives would not change and the new move would not pose “any danger to either the Maldivian people or our neighbouring countries”.

Officials in Delhi said they were examining Yameen’s statements closely.

Lawmakers in the Maldives voted on Wednesday for the bill, which easily passed after a brief debate, with 70 members in favour and 14 against, the assembly said in a statement.

But opposition MPs expressed fears that their small nation, made up of about 1,200 tiny islands, would be caught in the “a cold war brewing between India and China”.

Since Nasheed was jailed for 13 years in March there have been regular protests on Malé’s streets.

Loyalists have argued that the detention of the human rights activist turned politician is an attempt to shut down opposition to the government of Yameen.

David Cameron called last month for “political dialogue [and the] release of Nasheed and all political prisoners” in the Maldives.

The Maldivian prosecutor general said on Friday that he would appeal against Nasheed’s conviction.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/24/maldives-law-selling-foreigners-islands-stokes-delhis-fears-rising-chinese-role 

Indian Ocean games

Delhi must stop complaining and start thinking of how to repair strained ties with the Maldives

New Delhi is predictably upset with the Maldives for an amendment to the country’s constitution permitting foreigners to own land, provided the entity invests a minimum of $1 billion. The move is being seen as an attempt by the Indian Ocean atoll to forge closer ties with China. Chinese companies are already involved in other projects, notably the construction of a bridge to connect Hulhumale island, on which the airport is, with the capital Male. During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit last September, Maldives President Abdulla Yameen readily agreed to become part of China’s ambitious maritime silk route project. New Vice President Ahmed Adeeb has said that criticism of the amendment as a backdoor move to permit foreign powers to establish military bases on its territory are unfounded. As many as 70 members in the 85-seat Majlis voted in favour of the changes. Among the 19 opposition members who voted for the bill, 10 were from the Maldivian Democratic Party, whose leader, Mohamed Nasheed, a former president, is under house arrest. The concern in India, and for some in the Maldives, too, is that the possibility has not been ruled out entirely.




Sovereign nations act according to what they believe are their own best interests. Other countries have to work towards ensuring that these interests coincide with theirs. Delhi, which harbours an unrealistic expectation that its neighbours must play its game or none at all, was unfortunately not deft at deciphering the signals from the Maldives right from the time Nasheed was ousted back in 2012, or far thinking. It lost no time in dropping the young MDP leader and backing the new regime. It was only when the Indian firm GMR was turfed out from the Maldives airport project did Delhi fathom this Indian Ocean game ran deep. Despite his political brinkmanship, Nasheed was the most India-friendly politician in the Maldives. If some in his party have now voted in favour of the amendment, it is in the hope that in return, the Yameen government may give some concessions on Nasheed’s 13-year jail term, handed down by an anti-terrorist court earlier this year. 

India must stop complaining and start thinking of how to repair strained ties with this small but strategically important neighbour it has helped in many ways. One way to do this might be to step up engagement with all political players there immediately.

Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/indian-ocean-games/

Maldives To Allow Foreigners To Own Land

Lawmakers in the Maldives have voted to allow foreign ownership of land for the first time, triggering concern over a possible landgrab by China in the strategic Indian Ocean region.

Dozens of foreign companies already run luxury resorts on islands that they lease from the government of the honeymoon islands for a maximum of 99 years.

The new law, which has yet to be ratified by the president, would allow foreigners who invest more than US$1 billion (RM3.8 billion) to own land in perpetuity, provided 70% of it is reclaimed from the Indian Ocean.

The bill passed easily on Wednesday after a brief debate, with 70 members voting in favour and 14 against, the assembly said in a statement.

But opposition lawmakers expressed fears that the move could clear the way for the Chinese to set up bases in the Maldives, which straddles vital international east-west shipping routes.

Regional superpower India is already wary of increased Chinese involvement in the area, which it considers to be within its sphere of influence.

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party MP Eva Abdulla said she feared the nation could become a frontline for a potential power struggle between India and China.

"We can't ignore the fact there is a cold war brewing between India and China," Abdulla told AFP by telephone from the capital island Male.

"What is in our interest is peace and stability in the Indian Ocean. India is our neighbour and we are not a country in the South China Sea," she said referring to China's dispute with several countries over claims to the area.

The government has said the move would not threaten the Maldives' sovereignty and was needed to attract large-scale foreign investment for projects.

The Maldives is seeking aid and investment from Beijing to build a 1.4km bridge linking Male with the nearby airport island.

Ahead of the vote, President Abdulla Yameen's half brother Maumoon Abdul Gayoom — the country's former strongman leader — had urged further public debate on the controversial move.

"I have appealed to (the) president to seek public opinion on proposed constitutional amendment re land ownership before ratification," he tweeted.

The Maldives, made up of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered across the equator, has been plagued by political unrest since the toppling of the country's first democratically elected president Mohamed Nasheed in February 2012.

Since his conviction earlier this year on terrorism charges there have been regular protests on Male's streets.

Source: http://malaysiandigest.com/frontpage/29-4-tile/562581-maldives-to-allow-foreigners-to-own-land.html

Indian Foreign Secretary Meets with Maldivian Envoy Twice, Receives Assurances

Underlining the seriousness with which India viewed Maldives government’s move to allow foreign land ownership, foreign secretary S Jaishankar has held two meetings in two days with the Maldivian high commissioner Ahmed Mohamed.

Sources said that Maldivian envoy was “summoned” to South Block on Wednesday evening, within a few hours after parliament in Male passed the constitutional amendment to allow foreign land ownership which alarmed the Indian establishment.

Mohamed again met with Jaishankar on Thursday morning, which was described as a “follow-up”.

On Wednesday, Maldives parliament passed the law to modify the constitution to permit foreign nationals to own land for the first time in the Indian Ocean nation. Indian observers have been worried that this will allow China, with Chinese firms in front, to get a decisive foothold in the Indian Ocean.

At the Wednesday meeting where Mohamed was summoned, India expressed its concerns about the impact of the law, which was pushed through in just 48 hours immediately after the lawmaking process was shortened by a parliamentary panel.

The Maldivian diplomat indicated to that his government was willing to engage with India to meet its concerns. This morning’s meeting was essentially to give further assurances that India’s strategic security in the Indian Ocean region will not be compromise by Maldives.

At a press conference in the afternoon in Malé, Maldives President Abdulla Yameen publicly announced that New Delhi had been assured that it had not cause for alarm.

“The Maldivian government has given assurances to the Indian government and our neighbouring countries as well to keep the Indian Ocean a demilitarised zone,” said Yameen.

He said that the new land policy does not pose “any danger to either the Maldivian people or our neighbouring countries”.

China has been steadily making its presence felt in the Indian ocean region, where India aims to be the dominant security provider.

The administration of President Yameen has been growing increasingly close to Beijing, with Chinese president Xi Jinping even making a state visit last year. Maldives has also signed up to China’s Maritime Silk route initiative.

The Maldivian ambassador had in an exclusive interview on Wednesday evening that India’s security will not be jeopardized.

“We sit in the middle of the Indian Ocean. We will not consciously do anything to disrupt the security balance of the Indian Ocean region,” Mohamed told Express.

The Maldivian envoy termed the trilateral forum with India and Sri Lanka as the “fundamental lens” through which his country envisioned security in the region.

When asked about India’s concerns, Mohamed said that Maldives will not deliberately harm its relations with India, its closest neighbour. “Why would a sane person harm themselves deliberately?” said Mohamed, when reminded of India’s concerns.

The constitutional amendment was also to attract investment to Maldives, he contended. “Our only economic pillar is tourism. We need to diversify our economy. We cannot keep the Maldives economy dependent only on one sector,” he said
Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/Indian-Foreign-Secretary-Meets-with-Maldivian-Envoy-Twice-Receives-Assurances/2015/07/24/article2936777.ece

Full text of interview with Maldives Vice President Ahmed Adeeb

India has raised strong concerns over the Maldives government’s decision to pass a constitutional amendment allowing foreign ownership of islands, a move that could give China a stranglehold in the Indian ocean region. Speaking exclusively to The Hindu, Maldives’ new Vice President Ahmed Adeeb defends the decision, insisting that the move was a commercial one not a strategic one.

How do you respond to India’s concerns that the constitutional amendment your government has passed could have ‘national security’ implications?

This constitutional amendment is purely a corporate, commercial decision, as we want to do this for investments of more than a billion dollars. There are many Maldives atolls that need reclamation done. We have already reclaimed two islands near the Male airport, and there are now people living there. There are many hotels there as well. We need much more by way of multinational’s investment for this. It is just a political play by the opposition to try and create a problem between the Maldives and India, to try and say that we would sell off land to China, but there is no such idea or communication in the government. We are open for business, but not open to give up our sovereignty to any country including China.

We have opened for SEZs and we have requests from many companies to be able to own lands in perpetuity. So far we have given leases for 99 years to them, for investments of around $200 million. But now we want to build big projects, like IT parks, like townships, so we need to give them more. Maldives is a great place for them as we have year-round good weather, environment, so this amendment is to help them invest in the Maldives. Even in India, investments over $5 million get several concessions.

In addition we have put into place many safeguards. First, it is only for investments over $1 billion, then parliament has to pass the project, it has to be transparent, and then they have to reclaim land up to 70 per cent to do the project. The opposition wants to say they will come and run military bases, but that is not the reality. We are looking at projects like Singapore Marina Bay Sands or Dubai’s Palm islands. We are not looking at strategic projects.

You speak of Singapore and Dubai type of projects, but some would argue that given the stipulations, only China can actually benefit from the new law: as it has the money, the desire, and the technology for reclamation…

Firstly China has never shown an interest in this kind of project. They would like to partner with us in infrastructure projects, like the airport, give us concessional loans etc. We are seeing much more interest from the Middle East (West Asia), especially from royal families there. Maldives can be like Bahrain is for them. Please remember that President Yameen is a person who declined the American offer for a base under the SOFA agreement. Because our sovereignty is not on offer. And we don’t want to give any of our neighbours, India....any cause for concern. We don’t want to be in a position when we become a threat to our neighbours.

Have there been tensions with India over this? How did India raise its concerns?

The President’s statement today was to communicate to India in particular that what is our intent. We are hoping for a visit to the Indian Foreign Secretary, and we have given assurances to the Indian government about this. It is very strange that the opposition should have caused these concerns with their comments. Let me ask about the opposition party MDP of Mr. Nasheed… is there any hope of a reconciliation now, given that the MDP supported the government on the votes in parliament?

Yes, we are trying to reconcile politically. There are two processes for appeal in the High Court and the Supreme Court. Those are independent, but the prosecutor general has announced that the State will appeal to the High Court to help finish Mr. Nasheed’s appeal process. So we are now supporting Mr. Nasheed’s request for a proper appeals process in court. We have also allowed international observers to come and they can study the whole process, even the Indian media should come.

Relations with India have been under strain over the government’s treatment of Mr. Nasheed, and PM Modi cancelled his visit. Are you hopeful relations can improve?

The PM’s visit was cancelled because of the opposition’s uproar here, as they had planned a protest to overthrow the government in Male. We understood why PM Modi didn’t want to come in the middle of political turmoil, and India didn’t want to be seen as interfering. We are trying to ensure the right environment so Mr. Modi can visit us soon. People in the Maldives are pro-India, we would not like any tensions in our relations with India. This weekend marks our 50th year of independence, and you can see, we have invited Indian bands to perform, and stars like Bipasha Basu who are very popular here will come to. So I hope this is all taken positively and we build on our relations.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/full-text-of-interview-with-maldives-vice-president-ahmed-adeeb/article7457321.ece

Want to buy a slice of the Maldives? Now you can - for $1b

Decision by the Maldives government to open up islands to foreign buyers has sparked fears that China is poised to seize a foothold in the Indian Ocean



Maldives' government has passed a law which will, for the first time, allow foreigners to purchase land.

But the new law has a sting in its tail.

The constitutional amendment bill, passed by the Maldivian parliament on Wednesday, states that investors must spend at least $1 billion (£640m) to own land on one of the 1,200 islands in perpetuity. Furthermore, 70 per cent of the land must be reclaimed from the Indian Ocean.

And the conditions imposed have sparked fears that the bill is designed to clear the way for the Chinese to set up bases in the Maldives, which straddles vital international east-west shipping routes. China has expertise in reclamation technology and can easily make investments of that size.

India, which considers itself the regional superpower, is already wary of increased Chinese involvement in the area - which it considers to be within its sphere of influence.

Eva Abdulla, an MP of with the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, said she feared the nation could become a front line for a potential power struggle between India and China.

"We can't ignore the fact there is a cold war brewing between India and China," she said.

"What is in our interest is peace and stability in the Indian Ocean. India is our neighbour and we are not a country in the South China Sea," she said referring to China's dispute with several countries over claims to the area.

Ahead of the vote, President Abdulla Yameen's half brother Maumoon Abdul Gayoom - the country's former leader - had urged further public debate on the controversial move.

"I have appealed to (the) president to seek public opinion on proposed constitutional amendment re land ownership before ratification," he tweeted.

Anand Kumar, a strategic affairs analyst at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, agreed that the law could help China gain a foothold in the Indian Ocean.

"They have been creating islands in South China Sea, and they will try to replicate the same exercise in Indian Ocean," he said. "They tried to do the same thing with Sri Lanka. It appears that since they have lost political influence in Sri Lanka, they are trying to regain the same ground in Maldives."

The government has said the move would not threaten the Maldives' sovereignty and was needed to attract large-scale foreign investment for projects.

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11486525