Famed as an upmarket tourist destination of white beaches and turquoise waters, the island nation of the Maldives is troubled by political turmoil and rising sea levels. The country is a collection of 26 atolls made up of 1,192 tiny islands scattered 800 kilometres (550 miles) across the equator.

Only 200 islands are inhabited with the country&#39;s population put at 3,40,000 in the last census but estimated at around 4,17,000 in 2016 by the World Bank.

Its 298 square kilometres (115 square miles) are home to about three per cent of the world&#39;s coral reefs.

Tourism is the principal income earner, providing 41 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016 and nearly 20 per cent of jobs, the World Travel and Tourism Council says.

The archipelago&#39;s beauty drew around 1.28 million tourists in 2016, a four-per cent rise over the previous year, according to UN&#39;s World Tourism Organization data.

It is a destination especially prized among honeymooners, such as Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes who visited in 2006. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ruled with an iron fist for 30 years until 2008, when he lost the first multi-party polls to human rights activist Mohamed Nasheed.

Nasheed was forced to resign in 2012 after a police mutiny and demonstrations that he said were part of a coup plot.

In disputed elections the following year, he was defeated by Gayoom&#39;s half brother, Abdulla Yameen, the current president.

In 2015, Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in jail on a terrorism charge widely criticised as politically motivated.

In 2016, he was granted prison leave for medical treatment in London, where he secured political asylum with the help of high-profile human rights lawyer Amal Clooney.

While Nasheed continues to push for change from exile, Yameen declared a state of emergency on February 6 after judges ordered the release of his opponents. Eighty per cent of the Maldives is less than a metre above sea level, making it one of the countries most threatened by rising sea levels linked to climate warming.

In 2009, Nasheed held a cabinet meeting underwater to raise awareness of the risk, also warning his people could become climate refugees. Situated along Indian Ocean trading routes and about 650 kilometres southwest of Sri Lanka, the Maldives has been colonised several times.

Once a Buddhist kingdom, it converted to Islam around the 12th century.

Portuguese explorers occupied the main island of Mahe in the 16th century. The territory then became protectorates of the Dutch and the British before complete independence on 1965.

Sunni Islam today remains the state religion, all other religions being banned. The Maldives follows a moderate version of Islam while banning alcohol, except in tourist hotels, and homosexuality.

It also flogs women found guilty of &quot;fornication&quot;, says Amnesty International, which is critical of the human rights situation that it says includes restrictions on peaceful protests and expression.

The Maldives left the Commonwealth in 2016 in a row over criticism of its rights record.

There are fears of radicalisation with the arrival of Middle East preachers and via radical websites.

Nearly 60 Maldivians are known to have travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight with foreign jihadists, and some are believed to have returned.

In travel advice issued this year, the United States urged increased caution due to the possibility of a terror attack.

It is a destination especially prized among honeymooners, such as Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes who visited in 2006.

Famed as an upmarket tourist destination of white beaches and turquoise waters, the island nation of the Maldives is troubled by political turmoil and rising sea levels. The country is a collection of 26 atolls made up of 1,192 tiny islands scattered 800 kilometres (550 miles) across the equator. Only 200 islands are inhabited with the country's population put at 3,40,000 in the last census but estimated at around 4,17,000 in 2016 by the World Bank. Its 298 square kilometres (115 square miles) are home to about three per cent of the world's coral reefs. Tourism is the principal income earner, providing 41 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016 and nearly 20 per cent of jobs, the World Travel and Tourism Council says. The archipelago's beauty drew around 1.28 million tourists in 2016, a four-per cent rise over the previous year, according to UN's World Tourism Organization data. It is a destination especially prized among honeymooners, such as Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes who visited in 2006. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ruled with an iron fist for 30 years until 2008, when he lost the first multi-party polls to human rights activist Mohamed Nasheed. Nasheed was forced to resign in 2012 after a police mutiny and demonstrations that he said were part of a coup plot. In disputed elections the following year, he was defeated by Gayoom's half brother, Abdulla Yameen, the current president. In 2015, Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in jail on a terrorism charge widely criticised as politically motivated. In 2016, he was granted prison leave for medical treatment in London, where he secured political asylum with the help of high-profile human rights lawyer Amal Clooney. While Nasheed continues to push for change from exile, Yameen declared a state of emergency on February 6 after judges ordered the release of his opponents. Eighty per cent of the Maldives is less than a metre above sea level, making it one of the countries most threatened by rising sea levels linked to climate warming. In 2009, Nasheed held a cabinet meeting underwater to raise awareness of the risk, also warning his people could become climate refugees. Situated along Indian Ocean trading routes and about 650 kilometres southwest of Sri Lanka, the Maldives has been colonised several times. Once a Buddhist kingdom, it converted to Islam around the 12th century. Portuguese explorers occupied the main island of Mahe in the 16th century. The territory then became protectorates of the Dutch and the British before complete independence on 1965. Sunni Islam today remains the state religion, all other religions being banned. The Maldives follows a moderate version of Islam while banning alcohol, except in tourist hotels, and homosexuality. It also flogs women found guilty of "fornication", says Amnesty International, which is critical of the human rights situation that it says includes restrictions on peaceful protests and expression. The Maldives left the Commonwealth in 2016 in a row over criticism of its rights record. There are fears of radicalisation with the arrival of Middle East preachers and via radical websites. Nearly 60 Maldivians are known to have travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight with foreign jihadists, and some are believed to have returned. In travel advice issued this year, the United States urged increased caution due to the possibility of a terror attack.

The Maldives, a honeymoon haven in peril

On February 5, 2018, President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency in the Maldives, plummeting the whole of Indian Ocean Region (IOR) into dangerous instability. This he did after the Supreme Court ordered him to reinstall opposition MPs and release political prisoners thrown in jail by him.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Defying the order of the Supreme court, Yameen ordered his military to arrest the Chief Justice. Security forces then stormed the court and arrested two judges, as well as a former leader.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

On February 6, President Yameen in a statement said that the Supreme Court had reversed the ruling that precipitated the crisis and nine political prisoners would not be released.

&nbsp;

This political drama sparked concerns in India. Last week, in an unusually strong statement, India pointed out how it is &quot;imperative&quot; for the Maldives government to obey the Supreme Court.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

China, which signed a free trade agreement with the Maldives last year, said on February 4 that the Maldives, a country of roughly 400,000 people, has &quot;the wisdom and capabilities to cope with the current situation independently&rdquo;.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Amidst all this, the exiled ex-Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed has urged India for helping his country out of this crisis through diplomatic and military intervention. India, on its part, reacting to the crisis said that it was &ldquo;disturbed&rdquo; over the situation in the archipelago.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

On the other hand, India is no more first. The Maldives has sent its first envoy after this crisis erupted, to friendly nations to explain declaration of emergency. The special envoys are visiting China, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Interestingly, just a month ago Yameen&rsquo;s envoy to Delhi had reaffirmed &ldquo;India First&rdquo; policy. &nbsp;

&nbsp;

Meanwhile here in India, the leading dailies reported Indian troops ready for intervention on short notice. Some quoted the government&rsquo;s sources saying that the troops are on standby as per the SOP for evacuation of the Indians if the situation develops dangerously.

&nbsp;

Some senior journalists dug their archives and brought out their account of Indian intervention in the Maldives on November 3, 1988. On the twitter and other social media platforms, many have expressed their excitement and predicted an inevitable repeat of operation Cactus of 1988.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

However, that may not be so forthcoming and simple as it is being talked about. A lot has changed ever since 1988. Increased sea trade traffic, extreme vulnerability to disruption of shipping and trade by terrorists and pirates make the Maldives strategically very important. &nbsp; &nbsp;

&nbsp;

Located in the middle of&nbsp;the Indian Ocean, the Maldives archipelago comprises of 1,200 coral islands, dotting around the key shipping lanes. Making them the potential security pivots in ensuring uninterrupted energy supplies to countries, such as China, Japan and India. The regional and global powers consider the Maldives to become the epicentre to dominate the region.

&nbsp;

Over the past decades, in the name of antipiracy operations, all the major global and regional powers have increased their Naval presence in the Indian ocean right up to&nbsp;the Gulf of Aden. Maldives&#39; significance has steadily grown and now it&#39;s at the heart of international geopolitics. This new found position is well understood by the President of Maldives. Thus, Yameen is exploiting it to his advantage.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Maldives provides the crucial link to the Chinese geopolitical designs of String of Pearls in the IOR. Starting from Hambantota in Sri Lanka to Male and stretching over to Gawadar in Pakistan and then to Dijobuti, China is India&rsquo;s main geopolitical challenger in the Indian Ocean Region. China has built ports, airports and other infrastructure in consolidating its position in these countries. Djibouti, a small African nation that is also home to China&rsquo;s first overseas military base, add complexity to this overall security dimensions.

&nbsp;

India on her part has been more assertive under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in pushing to maintain geo-strategic supremacy in the Indian Ocean. Today India has the backing from the U.S. and Japan, thus making this region a perfect playground for the great game.&nbsp; &nbsp;

&nbsp;

Being the &lsquo;net security provider&rsquo; to the whole of Indian Ocean region, India is the key stability factor. India needs to exercise its role rather diligently in ensuring regional peace, working closely with the Maldives amongst others on matters of defence and security.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

However, China&#39;s massive economic presence in the Maldives is a major concern for India. With 70% of Maldives&#39; external aid coming from China, India was left out high and dry, just like it happened in Rajapaksa&rsquo;s Sri Lanka. India has no other options but to regain its lost space in her area of influence. This political crisis may prove to be the right opportunity and push back.

&nbsp;

&quot;As India tries to establish itself as the preeminent power in the Indian Ocean region, the Maldives has become increasingly important,&quot; said Constantino Xavier, a fellow at Carnegie India in New Delhi. Yameen has &quot;definitely accelerated his outreach to China, to fend off pressure from the west and also reduce leverage from India.&quot;

&nbsp;

The Maldives has become politically volatile in recent years. Yameen, who has courted Chinese and Saudi investment since coming to power in an election in 2013, has been criticised by the US State Department for jailing opposition politicians and eroding human rights protections.The U.S. has condemned the state of emergency.

&nbsp;

It should be recalled that Maldives was the only SAARC country which showed reluctance to follow India&#39;s call for the boycott of SAARC summit in Pakistan after the Uri attack. India has to get the Maldives back into its folds to ward off the long-term dangers to its security posed by the Chinese and the growing Islamic fundamentalism.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The archipelago accounts for one of the highest numbers of foreign fighters in Syria in terms of per capita. Pakistan&rsquo;s ISI is also reported to be supporting the LeT activities in this country and exploiting its proximity to the Indian state of Kerala. India can ill-afford a neighbour with high Islamic radicalisation.

&nbsp;

A leading Indian national daily on February 7th reported, &#39;Exiled former president&nbsp;Mohamed Nasheed&nbsp;on Wednesday asked India to play the role of &quot;liberators&quot; and intervene militarily to resolve the ongoing political turmoil in the Maldives, in a rebuke to China which has opposed military intervention and called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.&#39; The newspaper further mentioned, &ldquo;China has&nbsp;warned against any military intervention&nbsp;in the Maldives, saying such a move would further complicate the situation in the island nation where embattled President&nbsp;Abdulla Yameen, who is closely allied with Beijing, declared a state of emergency on Monday and arrested two top judges&rdquo;.

&nbsp;

Under these circumstances, it would be extremely difficult for Indian planners to take a call and put up a repeat of Operation Cactus in restoring the situation. President Yameen, fully backed by his security forces and supported by the radical elements (in all probabilities they could well be armed), make it impossible for the Indian troops to land at Velna airport with impunity as it was the case in 1998.

&nbsp;

India&rsquo;s recently raised Amphibious force with a motto of, &ldquo;No land too far, No Sea too deep&rdquo; could ideally be spearheading the military part of Indian foreign policy&rsquo;s hard power option this time around.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Unconfirmed sources do indicate that this formation is on a short notice to respond to this arisen contingency. It could well mean seeing India&rsquo;s sole Landing Platform Dock, INS Jalashwa in action if the show of strength fails to bring about that necessary change.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Catering for a strong Chinese naval presence in the IOR with an equally strong countervailing Indian naval battle groups must be high on the agenda of South Block. Shadowing and manoeuvring around the Chinese on the high seas to deter them from any misadventure and threatening moves to Indian interests will be an operation by itself.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Mustering this large force may still take a few days for India. But, will Yameen give India reasons enough to intervene, on the pretext of evacuating stranded Indians or saving the lives of beleaguered political prisoners, is what that needs to be seen.

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;&nbsp;

President Yameen, fully backed by his security forces and supported by the radical elements, make it impossible for the Indian troops to land at Velna airport with impunity as it was the case in 1998.

On February 5, 2018, President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency in the Maldives, plummeting the whole of Indian Ocean Region (IOR) into dangerous instability. This he did after the Supreme Court ordered him to reinstall opposition MPs and release political prisoners thrown in jail by him. Defying the order of the Supreme court, Yameen ordered his military to arrest the Chief Justice. Security forces then stormed the court and arrested two judges, as well as a former leader. On February 6, President Yameen in a statement said that the Supreme Court had reversed the ruling that precipitated the crisis and nine political prisoners would not be released. This political drama sparked concerns in India. Last week, in an unusually strong statement, India pointed out how it is "imperative" for the Maldives government to obey the Supreme Court. China, which signed a free trade agreement with the Maldives last year, said on February 4 that the Maldives, a country of roughly 400,000 people, has "the wisdom and capabilities to cope with the current situation independently”. Amidst all this, the exiled ex-Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed has urged India for helping his country out of this crisis through diplomatic and military intervention. India, on its part, reacting to the crisis said that it was “disturbed” over the situation in the archipelago. On the other hand, India is no more first. The Maldives has sent its first envoy after this crisis erupted, to friendly nations to explain declaration of emergency. The special envoys are visiting China, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Interestingly, just a month ago Yameen’s envoy to Delhi had reaffirmed “India First” policy. Meanwhile here in India, the leading dailies reported Indian troops ready for intervention on short notice. Some quoted the government’s sources saying that the troops are on standby as per the SOP for evacuation of the Indians if the situation develops dangerously. Some senior journalists dug their archives and brought out their account of Indian intervention in the Maldives on November 3, 1988. On the twitter and other social media platforms, many have expressed their excitement and predicted an inevitable repeat of operation Cactus of 1988. However, that may not be so forthcoming and simple as it is being talked about. A lot has changed ever since 1988. Increased sea trade traffic, extreme vulnerability to disruption of shipping and trade by terrorists and pirates make the Maldives strategically very important. Located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the Maldives archipelago comprises of 1,200 coral islands, dotting around the key shipping lanes. Making them the potential security pivots in ensuring uninterrupted energy supplies to countries, such as China, Japan and India. The regional and global powers consider the Maldives to become the epicentre to dominate the region. Over the past decades, in the name of antipiracy operations, all the major global and regional powers have increased their Naval presence in the Indian ocean right up to the Gulf of Aden. Maldives' significance has steadily grown and now it's at the heart of international geopolitics. This new found position is well understood by the President of Maldives. Thus, Yameen is exploiting it to his advantage. Maldives provides the crucial link to the Chinese geopolitical designs of String of Pearls in the IOR. Starting from Hambantota in Sri Lanka to Male and stretching over to Gawadar in Pakistan and then to Dijobuti, China is India’s main geopolitical challenger in the Indian Ocean Region. China has built ports, airports and other infrastructure in consolidating its position in these countries. Djibouti, a small African nation that is also home to China’s first overseas military base, add complexity to this overall security dimensions. India on her part has been more assertive under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in pushing to maintain geo-strategic supremacy in the Indian Ocean. Today India has the backing from the U.S. and Japan, thus making this region a perfect playground for the great game. Being the ‘net security provider’ to the whole of Indian Ocean region, India is the key stability factor. India needs to exercise its role rather diligently in ensuring regional peace, working closely with the Maldives amongst others on matters of defence and security. However, China's massive economic presence in the Maldives is a major concern for India. With 70% of Maldives' external aid coming from China, India was left out high and dry, just like it happened in Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka. India has no other options but to regain its lost space in her area of influence. This political crisis may prove to be the right opportunity and push back. "As India tries to establish itself as the preeminent power in the Indian Ocean region, the Maldives has become increasingly important," said Constantino Xavier, a fellow at Carnegie India in New Delhi. Yameen has "definitely accelerated his outreach to China, to fend off pressure from the west and also reduce leverage from India." The Maldives has become politically volatile in recent years. Yameen, who has courted Chinese and Saudi investment since coming to power in an election in 2013, has been criticised by the US State Department for jailing opposition politicians and eroding human rights protections.The U.S. has condemned the state of emergency. It should be recalled that Maldives was the only SAARC country which showed reluctance to follow India's call for the boycott of SAARC summit in Pakistan after the Uri attack. India has to get the Maldives back into its folds to ward off the long-term dangers to its security posed by the Chinese and the growing Islamic fundamentalism. The archipelago accounts for one of the highest numbers of foreign fighters in Syria in terms of per capita. Pakistan’s ISI is also reported to be supporting the LeT activities in this country and exploiting its proximity to the Indian state of Kerala. India can ill-afford a neighbour with high Islamic radicalisation. A leading Indian national daily on February 7th reported, 'Exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed on Wednesday asked India to play the role of "liberators" and intervene militarily to resolve the ongoing political turmoil in the Maldives, in a rebuke to China which has opposed military intervention and called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.' The newspaper further mentioned, “China has warned against any military intervention in the Maldives, saying such a move would further complicate the situation in the island nation where embattled President Abdulla Yameen, who is closely allied with Beijing, declared a state of emergency on Monday and arrested two top judges”. Under these circumstances, it would be extremely difficult for Indian planners to take a call and put up a repeat of Operation Cactus in restoring the situation. President Yameen, fully backed by his security forces and supported by the radical elements (in all probabilities they could well be armed), make it impossible for the Indian troops to land at Velna airport with impunity as it was the case in 1998. India’s recently raised Amphibious force with a motto of, “No land too far, No Sea too deep” could ideally be spearheading the military part of Indian foreign policy’s hard power option this time around. Unconfirmed sources do indicate that this formation is on a short notice to respond to this arisen contingency. It could well mean seeing India’s sole Landing Platform Dock, INS Jalashwa in action if the show of strength fails to bring about that necessary change. Catering for a strong Chinese naval presence in the IOR with an equally strong countervailing Indian naval battle groups must be high on the agenda of South Block. Shadowing and manoeuvring around the Chinese on the high seas to deter them from any misadventure and threatening moves to Indian interests will be an operation by itself. Mustering this large force may still take a few days for India. But, will Yameen give India reasons enough to intervene, on the pretext of evacuating stranded Indians or saving the lives of beleaguered political prisoners, is what that needs to be seen. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Why India can't repeat Operation Cactus in the Maldives

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The Maldives, a honeymoon haven in peril

Opinion: Why India can't repeat Operation Cactus in the Maldives