Politics

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, center, tours the Colombo Port City project during his visit to Sri Lanka on Jan. 9.
Belt and Road

China presses economic buttons to deepen Indian Ocean clout

Wang Yi's tour of Sri Lanka, Maldives and others sends message to India and U.S.

12 January 2022
The Maldivian government now expects to attract 1.5 million vacationers by the end of this year, nearing the 1.7 million tourists it received in 2019.
International relations

Russian tourists make big splash in the Maldives

Island nation's gamble to open despite pandemic could draw near-record visitors

29 July 2021
The Maldives' capital, Male. The archipelago of 400,000 people is being divided by a religious dispute.
Politics

Hate crime bill widens Islamic divisions in the Maldives

'Irreligious' or not? Debate splits ruling party, fuels instability in South Asia

22 July 2021
Mohamed Nasheed, the charismatic former president of the Maldives, was the target of a failed assassination attempt on May 6.
Politics

Murder attempt on Maldives ex-president reveals rising radicalism

Government probes attack as Islam extremists continue to sow strife in country

17 May 2021
Maldives former President Mohamed Nasheed. 
8 May 2021
Port Louis, the Mauritian capital, is getting busier as the free trade agreement with China comes into play, but observers are concerned that the balance of trade is already in Beijing's favor by a factor of over 30. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
International relations

Beijing expands Indian Ocean FTAs westward with Mauritius

Concern among small island nations over huge trade imbalances with China

2 February 2021
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping. India and China see a chance to deepen their geopolitical influence in cash-strapped and increasingly vulnerable Sri Lanka and the Maldives, both strategically located in the Indian Ocean.
Asia Insight

India and China compete over Indian Ocean debt-relief diplomacy

Sri Lanka and Maldives seek bailouts as Asian giants dangle dollars to gain edge

1 December 2020
U.S. sailors train near Diego Garcia, a small island in the Indian Ocean that serves as a crucial U.S. military base in a part of the world where Washington is intent on beefing up its presence. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy)
Indo-Pacific

US counters China in Sri Lanka and Maldives by driving a wedge

Pompeo announces opening of Male embassy and calls Communist Party a 'predator'

30 October 2020
Tourists walk along a beach on Vihamanafushi Island in the Maldives in 2012.
Interview

Western tourists shrug off COVID fears to play in the Maldives

Sunseekers stay longer, unhappy with pandemic response at home, minister says

19 October 2020
India's approval for a new defense agreement between the U.S. and the Maldives counters China's recent incursions into the region. (Source photos by Reuters) 
International relations

India on board with US-Maldives alliance to counter China

Delhi's ground-leveling move sets up new Great Game in South Asia

27 September 2020
The Maldives has borrowed heavily from China for infrastructure projects, including a bridge connecting the capital Male to the country's international airport on another island.  (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
Belt and Road

China debt trap fear haunts Maldives government

Beijing reminds Male of sovereign guarantee on a private resort deal

15 September 2020
The country's tourist industry has recovered from disasters before and hopes the new measures will revive sinking visitor numbers.
International relations

Maldives tests waters by opening resorts to COVID-weary tourists

No quarantine and free 30-day visas to greet visitors from July 15

11 July 2020
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government have their hands full as the pandemic batters an already slumping economy. (Nikkei Montage/Source photo by Reuters) 
Coronavirus

Modi buried under avalanche of COVID-19 cases and 120m jobless

India struggles as slumping economy takes another hit from spreading pandemic

23 May 2020
Indians wait to board a repatriation flight from Kuwait International Airport in Kuwait City, on May 9: There are reports that more than 400,000 Indians worldwide are trying to return home. © AFP/Jiji
Coronavirus

Coronavirus wrecks South Asian migrant livelihoods in Middle East

Some 900,000 stranded workers to test health care systems and economies

20 May 2020
Staff at INHS Asvini, an Indian navy hospital in Mumbai, attended a ceremony in early May to honor frontline health care workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. 
International relations

India sends hydroxychloroquine to Africa in war on coronavirus

Aid initiative to fill pandemic leadership failings of China and the US

18 May 2020
USS Gabrielle Giffords conducts routine operations near a drill ship in South China Sea on May 12: the U.S. has been unwavering in its mission to preserve regional peace and stability. (Handout photo from the U.S. Navy)
Opinion

Indo-Pacific network must evolve to meet changing threats

US is working with partners to defend a free and open region

17 May 2020
A bridge construction site of the Bar-Boljare highway, pictured in June 2018: for Montenegro any concerns were far outweighed by the potential economic benefit of the new road.
Opinion

For developing world, Belt and Road Initiative is best deal around

China's infrastructure offer supports economic growth in Europe, Africa and Asia

6 May 2020
The Maldivian government sealed off two tourist islands, Kuredu and Sandies Bathala, after a coronavirus scare among German holidaymakers. 
Coronavirus

Maldives converts luxury resorts to coronavirus quarantine centers

Idyllic island hotels repurposed after tourism industry decimated

24 March 2020
Special Task Force soldiers stand guard as supporters of Sri Lankan President-elect Gotabaya Rajapaksa celebrate in Colombo on Nov. 17.
Opinion

South Asia's turn to illiberal democracy

In Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksa brothers' return confirms region's autocratic drift

18 November 2019
A mysteriously long runway has appeared near the site of a planned resort that a Chinese company is building in Cambodia, along the Gulf of Thailand. (Photo by Tomoya Onishi)
International relations

Cambodia's China-built runway irks US but locals have other concerns

Farmers and workers carry on as Chinese transplants drive up land prices

11 November 2019
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of the Maldives now has strong backing of the parliament, where his Maldivian Democratic Party won 65 of 87 seats in the recent election, to tackle large scale projects funded by China.
Belt and Road

Maldives election paves way for China deals investigations

New party with super majority secures chance to tackle corruption

15 April 2019