China could well turn out to be the biggest beneficiary of GMR Infrastructure’s forced exit from the Male airport project following a dispute with the Maldives government and Tuesday’s Singapore court ruling upholding the government’s right to take over the airport.
External affairs ministry officials told FE on condition of anonymity that China was keen to get a foothold in the Male airport asset as a base in the Maldives would put the dragon state in control of the oil routes in the region and give it greater dominance over sea lanes.
More than 80% of international trade to and from Asia passes through Maldivian territory. And while India and the Maldives have been enjoying strong relations, the nation is of strategic interest to China.
“China’s foremost interest in the Maldives is to protect its increasingly important supplies of energy that need to transit the Indian Ocean,” said former Major General Dipankar Banerjee, a mentor of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies.
08/12/12 Huma Siddiqui/Indian Express
