Belt & Road: Chinese techno-nationalism in Maldives

The Maldives’ recent turn toward China and away from India has boosted Beijing’s long-term push for regional control and disrupted New Delhi’s ambition to match Chinese strategic competitiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

On March 12, the Maldives began setting in motion the expulsion of Indian troops on the archipelago, ordered by President Mohamed Muizzu.

As China-Maldives diplomatic alignments strengthen, so also does China’s reach across the contentious Indian Ocean Region, meaning Beijing is well on its way to becoming regional overseer.

China’s expansive Belt and Road Initiative, launched in 2013, presents Beijing as the Indo-Pacific’s dominant power, with the Maldives having been one of the first countries to join.

The Digital Silk Road, a flagship project of Belt and Road, epitomizes Beijing’s aim to direct the enhancement of global connectivity, led by Chinese technology companies and telecommunications networks.

The Maldives is an integral part of the digital scheme. The islands’ geostrategic location is critical to China’s plan to establish a maritime route linking China’s coastal areas to Southeast Asia, the Indo-Pacific, Africa and beyond. The Digital Silk Road poses formidable security and espionage risks for the international community, potentially allowing China to play king of the castle in one of the most strategic areas of the planet.

China’s recent stirring of controversy, over its use of naval patrols near Taiwan as well as a continued standoff with the Philippines, has generated regional security concerns. Against this backdrop of confrontation, the Maldives remains an ambitious partner of Beijing.

Over a decade ago, when Belt and Road was announced, a subsidiary of Huawei signed an agreement with the