Two Island Nations
Recently, two different tiny island nations turned pro-China – Maldives and Nauru. The Maldives case we know well (and care about) in India. A common consequence in both nations’ pivoting to be pro-China was something Indians don’t really care about – the stance on Taiwan. Both Maldives and Nauru declared that Taiwan was an inalienable part of China, there can only be one Chinese government etc. Are these signs that China is “winning”? Not really. The reason both countries pivoted to China was good old money. In Maldives’ case, it owes China a lot of money (by their standards), aren’t in a position to make their EMI payments, and therefore need the lender (China) to either extend the term of the loan or to defer payments. This may be sound surprising to Indians, who see Maldives’ stance as driven by the new Islamist-leaning leader. Sure, yes, in Maldives politics, alternate leader flip-flop between India and China. But the problem of paying back to China...