Freeing Maldives from the hegemonic and colonial claws of India

Isolated in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka and the Maldives often fall victims to regional and international hegemonic powers that strive to bring the entire Indian Ocean rim under their control for their own economic, political and security gains. Unless the peoples of these countries realize the dire consequences of such action the hegemonic powers, in the form of indirect imperialism, will infiltrate these countries and severely threaten their sovereignty.
Sri Lanka and Maldives have been considered as crucial since time immemorial. Because of Sri Lanka and Maldive’s position in the Indian Ocean, the countries attract those powers who have vested interests in Asia: Japan, China, India, Pakistan, Russia, Britain, and the United States. These regional and international players have sought to have influence over these countries’ economy, security, and politics. Much of the present concern is due to the fact that Maldives is located in a vital sea lane where ships travel between western, south-eastern, and eastern Asia. As the demand for oil and gas grows, international players increasingly view the Middle East and South-East Asia as vitally important and need to ensure the safety of the sea lanes through which gas and oil resources are transported. For the Maldives, its geo-strategic position is a cause for its vulnerability which increased in the wake of militarization of the Indian Ocean. In this context, President Gayoom stated in 1982: "Let us not forget, the Portuguese invaded us because of strategic position. Many covetous eyes are focused on us right now for the same reason." The Maldives’ geo-strategic position has figured in its friendly relations with India.
The Indian intelligence wing is very uneasy about the developments of ties between Maldives and China and Maldives and the US or Britain. The Maldivian government maintains political neutrality and, therefore, cooperates with all countries. The Maldivian population has good relations with Pakistan because both countries share the same religion. It has a pro-India policy, and does not want to alienate China. In future, the Maldives may be a battleground for the major international players. Russia wants to have good relations with the Maldives so that it can conduct naval exercises with its Indian counterparts. The Americans are also active in the area. Historically, during the 1960s and 1970s, because the United States wanted to keep the Russians and Chinese at bay, it decided to establish a base at Diego Garcia. The chain of islands near Mauritius and Madagascar are still under the control of the British Queen. The British and American navies conduct daily exercises between the Middle East and Diego Garcia.
All the major players, including the United States, Britain, Russia, India, Pakistan, Japan, and China, aspire to have direct influence on the Maldives. One reason is that these countries are located in the Indian Ocean, a location considered significant for economic, security and political reasons. Other reasons include the importance of oil and gas resources and their safe transportation, and the need to make new alliances in the new era of terrorism and counter-terrorism. However, it is up to the citizens of these two countries to decide whether they compromise their sovereignty for the sake of good relations with these powers – especially India which is acting as the Big Brother. Recently the Indian Trade Minister visited Maldives and unilaterally declared that Maldives cannot build a transshipment harbor in the Haa-Ali Atoll without involving India. Are we a colony of India? The next president of this country has a huge role to play in taking Maldives away from direct “colonial” influences of India and towards a more independent frontier. We need to have good relations with India of course but we should be scared if Indian Ministers can come and declare in no uncertain terms that we cannot conduct our businesses without involving India!
(Based on an article of the “Island newspaper” of Sri Lanka)