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- Maldives Government has decided to scrap an agreement with China which was signed by the previous government in 2017.
- The agreement titled ‘Protocol on Establishment of Joint Ocean Observation Station’ was reportedly meant to allow China to build an observatory at Makunudhoo,westernmost atoll of the Maldives in the north.
- This agreement had raised security concerns in India that construction of such an observatory would allow China to keep an eye on the important Indian Ocean shipping route through which many merchant and other ships pass.
- In the recent visit,Indian PM while referring to Maldives external debts to China had said that India’s role in the partnership is meant to empower and not weaken countries by increasing dependency on the country.
- Further,the biggest concern for India in terms of its maritime security has been the increasing maritime expansion of China in the region since the Chinese navy had entered the Indian Ocean and China announced its fully functional naval base in Djibouti in 2017.



