Pentagon has said that it is a cause of concern for the United States that China is engaging in massive land grabbing in the Maldives. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia, Joe Felter said that the US is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific rules-based order. He said that they have seen concerning developments in Maldives as far as the Chinese influence is concerned.
The top Pentagon official said Maldives is in India’s backyard and situation there is a concern for India. He said, they will see how it plays out. It emphasizes some of their priorities identified in their National Defence Strategy.
He was responding to a question on the allegations of a Maldivian opposition leader and a former foreign minister, on the Chinese land grabbing activities in the island nation with the potential of developing them into a military outpost.
Other countries in the region have expressed similar concern, including India, he noted.During a recent visit to the US, Ahmed Naseem, a former foreign minister of Maldives, alleged that China is meddling in internal affairs of Maldives and indulged itself in a massive land grabbing endeavour which if left unchecked would pose a major strategic threat to both the US and India.
China, he alleged, appeared to be keen on building a base in the Maldives which one day may house warships and submarines.
Source: AIR