Scientists Discover a New Ecosystem – “The Trapping Zone” – That Is Creating an Oasis of Life

By UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD DECEMBER 7, 2022

Nekton Omega Seamaster II Submersible. Credit: Nekton Maldives Mission (c) Nekton 2022

The new ecosystem is located in the depths of the Indian Ocean.

Researchers from the University of Oxford and the Nekton Maldives Mission have discovered evidence of an ecosystem known as “The Trapping Zone” that is creating an oasis of life 500 meters (1640 feet) under the surface of the Indian Ocean. The Maldives Government has hailed the finding as highly significant.

Video evidence from Nekton science cameras onboard the Omega Seamaster II submersible, together with biological samples gathered and extensive sonar mapping, show that predators such as sharks and other large fish feed on swarms of small organisms known as micro-nekton in this zone. These marine organisms can swim against the current and often migrate from the deep sea to the surface at night before returning to the depths in the morning (known as The Vertical Migration). However in this region, at 500 meters (1640 feet), the micro-nekton get trapped against the subsea landscape.

Nekton Maldives Mission. Credit: Nekton Maldives Mission (c) Nekton 2022

The Maldivian atolls’ volcanic subsea strata and fossilized carbonate reefs combine steep vertical cliffs and shelving terraces. The trapped animals are then targeted by large pelagic predators, including schools of tuna and sharks, along with well-known, large deep-water fish including the spiky oreo (named after the biscuit) and alfonsino. Tiger sharks, gill sharks, sand tiger sharks, dogfish, gulper sharks, scalloped hammerhead sharks, silky sharks, and the very rare bramble shark were all documented by the mission.

Marine ecosystems are defined by both topography and ocean life. “This has all the hallmarks of a distinct new ecosystem,” explained Professor Alex Rogers (University of Oxford) who has spent over 30 hours underwater in the mission’s submersibles observing ‘The Trapping Zone’ during the expedition. “The Trapping Zone is creating an oasis of life in the Maldives and it is highly likely to exist in other oceanic islands and also on the slopes of continents.

Bramble Shark. Credit: Nekton Maldives Mission (c) Nekton 2022

Lucy Woodall, Associate Professor of Marine Biology at the University of Oxford and Principal Scientist at Nekton, said: “We’re particularly intrigued at this depth — why is this occurring? Is this something that’s specific at 500 meters, does this life go even deeper, what is this transition, what is there, and why? That’s our critical question we need to ask next. Why are we seeing the patterns that we have observed on this expedition? This will enable us to understand the deep ocean in much better terms.”

A video summary of the Nekton Maldives Mission’s discovery of the Trapping Zone. Credit: Nekton Maldives Mission (c) Nekton 2022

Whilst a trapping effect has been associated with biodiversity hotspots on subsea mountains or seamounts, it has not previously been linked to the different geomorphology and biological parameters of oceanic islands, like the Maldives

Nekton Omega Seamaster II Submersible. Credit: Nekton Maldives Mission (c) Nekton 2022

Analysis of the video and biological data is ongoing in the Maldives, Nekton’s UK headquarters in Oxford, and at partner laboratories. The discovery could have important implications for other oceanic islands and the slopes of continents, sustainable fisheries management, the burial and storage of carbon and, ultimately, climate change mitigation.

President of the Maldives H.E Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, said: ‘The discovery of ‘The Trapping Zone’ and the oasis of life in the depths surrounding the Maldives provides us with critical new knowledge that further supports our conservation commitments and sustainable ocean management, and almost certainly support fisheries and tourism.’

The Nekton Maldives Mission is coordinated and managed by Nekton, a not-for-profit research institute based at Begbroke Science Park in Oxford. The mission is a partnership between the Government of Maldives, Nekton, and the University of Oxford alongside a dozen organizations in the Maldives and an international alliance of technology, philanthropy, media, and scientific partners. The purpose is to conduct the first systematic survey of ocean life in the Maldives, from the surface to 1000 meters deep, to help inform conservation and sustainable development policies. Until the mission, almost nothing was known about what lay below 30 meters (100 feet) deep in this region.

Credit: Nekton Maldives Mission (c) Nekton 2022

Oliver Steeds, Chief Executive and Mission Director of Nekton said: ‘The Maldives Mission has been co-created and co-produced with our Maldivian colleagues to meet national priorities with all data and biological samples owned and vested with the Maldives. Nekton’s scientific leadership is anchored by our research team from the University of Oxford and it’s this scientific collaboration between the Maldives and Oxford that is at the heart of the mission’s success and long-term impact.’

The mission set sail on September 4 and was at sea for 34 days. Other discoveries from the mission so far include:

• Ancient beach lines: Terracing and wave erosion at depths of 122m, 101m, 94m, 84m, and 55m revealed evidence of different beach lines from sea level rise over the last 20,000 years since the end of the last glacial maximum.
• Coral Reefs: The mission systematically mapped, surveyed, and determined the location, health, and resilience of coral reefs in six major locations to inform the Maldives Government’s conservation and management policies. The reefs are essential to life in the Maldives and help reduce the impacts of sea level rise and the increasing frequency and intensity of storms caused by climate change.
• A deep-sea refuge: At depths from 120 meters to 300 meters, the team systematically surveyed the Rariphotic Zone for the first time in the Maldives — home to corals, reefs, and organisms, some of which are highly likely to be species new to science.

Mohamed Muizzu wins Maldives election in victory for pro-China camp

Incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih concedes defeat shortly before midnight after Muizzu wins 54 percent of the vote.

Published On 30 Sep 202330 Sep 2023

Mohamed Muizzu has won the presidential election in the Maldives after a second-round run-off against incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, which was seen as a test of the Indian Ocean archipelago’s nascent democracy as well as its ties with China and traditional benefactor India.

Muizzu, 45, leads a party that welcomed an influx of Chinese loans and oversaw a wide-ranging crackdown on dissent when it was last in powerend of list

Incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih conceded defeat shortly before midnight after the Elections Commission of the Maldives said Muizzu had won 54.06 percent of the vote in the run-off contest.

“Congratulations to president-elect Muizzu,” Solih wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Thank you for the beautiful democratic example shown by the people in the elections,” he added.

Solih, 61, will remain as caretaker president until his successor’s inauguration on November 17.

Muizzu, 45, emerged as the surprise frontrunner during the first round of voting on September 8, taking some 46 percent of the ballots cast. Solih – hurt by a low voter turnout and a split within his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – won 39 percent.

The run-off was seen as having significant implications for the Maldives’s foreign policy, especially in deciding China and India’s battle for influence in the strategically-located country.

Maldives President Ibrahim Solih casts his vote [Dhahau Naseem/Reuters]

“Today’s result is a reflection of the patriotism of our people. A call on all our neighbours and bilateral partners to fully respect our independence and sovereignty,” Mohamed Shareef, a top official from Muizzu’s Progressive Party of Maldives, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

Muizzu, who is currently the mayor of the capital Male, made a brief appearance outside his party’s campaign headquarters to urge supporters not to celebrate until Sunday morning, when campaign restrictions officially come to an end.

Muizzu, a one-time housing minister, played a pivotal role in an earlier government’s development programme, bankrolled in part by financial largesse from China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

He told a meeting with Chinese Communist Party officials last year that his party’s return to office would “script a further chapter of strong ties between our two countries”.

The party’s return to power might also mean freedom for former President Abdulla Yameen, Muizzu’s mentor.

Yameen, who lost power in 2018 as he moved the country closer to China and became increasingly autocratic, is serving an 11-year prison term for corruption and money laundering. His supporters say the charges against him are politically motivated.

Watchdog group Transparency Maldives said there had been some incidents of “electoral violence,” without specifying further details.

There were more than 282,000 eligible voters and turnout was 85 percent, slightly higher than the first-round vote.

India, China angle

Solih, who was first elected president in 2018, was battling allegations by Muizzu that he had allowed India an unchecked presence in the country.

Solih has insisted that the Indian military’s presence in the Maldives was only to build a dockyard under an agreement between the two governments and that his country’s sovereignty will not be violated.

Muizzu promised that if he won the presidency, he would remove Indian troops from the Maldives and balance the country’s trade relations, which he claimed were heavily in India’s favour.

Muizzu’s supporters call for the release of arrested Maldives’ former president Abdulla Yameen [Mohamed Afrah/AFP]

Ahmed Shaheed, a former foreign minister of the Maldives, described the outcome as a verdict on the government’s failure to meet economic and governance expectations rather than concerns over Indian influence.

“I don’t think India was at all in the people’s minds,” Saheed said.

Solih suffered a setback closer to the election when Mohamed Nasheed, a charismatic former president, broke away from his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and fielded his own candidate in the first round. He decided to remain neutral in the second round.

“Nasheed’s departure took the motherboard away from the MDP,” Shaheed said.

Yameen, leader of the Progressive Party of the Maldives, made the Maldives a part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative during his presidency from 2013 to 2018. The initiative is meant to build railroads, ports and highways to expand trade – and China’s influence – across Asia, Africa and Europe.

Nevertheless, Muizzu is unlikely to change the foreign policy of affording an important place to India. Rather, opposition to Chinese projects is likely to lessen, evening power balances out, Shaheed said.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

Fate of India ties, democracy in balance as Maldives votes in run-off

Voters in the Maldives choose their next president in a run-off election closely watched by China and India.

By Al Jazeera Staff
Published On 30 Sep 202330 Sep 2023

Voters in the Maldives are casting their ballots in a presidential run-off that could determine the fate of the Indian Ocean archipelago’s nascent democracy as well as its ties with China and India.

The election on Saturday pits President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who has championed an India-first policy, against the mayor of the capital, Mohamed Muizzu, whose opposition coalition sought closer ties with China and oversaw a wide-ranging crackdown on dissent while in power from 2013-18.end of list

Muizzu emerged as the surprise frontrunner during the first round of voting on September 8, taking some 46 percent of the ballots cast. Solih – hurt by low voter turnout and a split within his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – won 39 percent.

But with the incumbent leader ramping up his campaign – including with pledges of handouts and warnings of a return to authoritarianism should his opponent win – the run-off looks too close to call, according to observers.

Polling opened at 8am local time (03:00 GMT) and will close at 5pm (12:00 GMT). Vote counting begins immediately afterwards, and the results will likely be known within hours.

Some 282,804 people in the country of 500,000 people are eligible to vote.

Here’s what you need to know about the Maldives’s high-stakes election.
China-India rivalry

The run-off has significant implications for the Maldives’ foreign policy, as the outcome could be key in deciding China and India’s battle for influence in the strategically located archipelago.

Solih, who won the last election in 2018 amid widespread anger over corruption and human rights abuses under his predecessor, has brought the Maldives closer to India, obtaining more than $1bn in loans for housing and transport projects in the capital, Male.

The Maldives owes a similar amount to China.

Under Solih’s predecessor, Abdulla Yameen, Beijing funded a first-of-its-kind bridge connecting Male to its neighbouring islands, as well as upgrades to the Maldives’s main international airport.

The infrastructure projects have driven the Maldives’ debt to 113 percent of the country’s GDP at the end of 2022, with India and China estimated to hold 26 percent of GDP each.

N Sathiya Moorthy, a political commentator based in the Indian city of Chennai, said for both Beijing and New Delhi, Saturday’s election is “about the predictability of their Maldivian relations under the next presidency”. Solih is by now predictable for both, he said, but Muizzu – who is contesting the election after Yameen was jailed on a corruption conviction last year – spells uncertainty.

This is because Muizzu’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM)-led coalition has launched a vitriolic “India Out” campaign seeking to reduce what it calls New Delhi’s outsized influence in the country’s affairs. “India has become the unnamed issue in this second round of polling with anti-India social media posts doing the rounds much more than in the first,” Moorthy said

.

The Maldives’ main opposition candidate Mohamed Muizzu participates in a rally [Mohamed Sharuhaan/AP]

Fears for democracy

A change in government will not only test the country’s foreign policy, but also its fledgling democracy.

Muizzu’s opponents say the mayor – who was a cabinet member in Yameen’s government – could return the country to the authoritarianism seen under the former president. While in office, Yameen presided over a wide-ranging crackdown on dissent that included the jailing of nearly all opposition leaders, the prosecution of journalists and a huge corruption scandal, in which tens of millions of dollars were stolen from public coffers and used to bribe judges, legislators and members of watchdog institutions. He also turned a blind eye to the growing presence of groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS), even after the killing of a young journalist and a blogger.

“The Maldivian experiment with democratic politics is still very precarious,” said Azim Zahir, a lecturer and research fellow in international relations and politics at the University of Western Australia in Perth. “This very experiment was under serious threat when PPM was in power. The fact that Muizzu was a cabinet minister of that government makes me really nervous for the future of democracy should he win the election.”

Amid the fears, Muizzu has repeatedly pledged not to go after his political opponents.

“I do not support brutality,” the 45-year-old mayor told the Dhauru newspaper last week. “I will not take action against my opponents for disagreeing with me … Everyone will have the opportunity [to carry out political activities].”
Ruling party split

Solih, meanwhile, has dismissed Muizzu’s assurances.

The incumbent has portrayed Saturday’s vote as a contest between democracy and autocracy.

“This election is a choice between peace and stability in the Maldives, or brutality, fear and chaos,” the 61-year-old president told supporters on the eve of the run-off. “If you do not vote [for me], the whole of Maldives may have to mourn and shed tears.”

With much at stake, the president has sought to win the backing of third, fourth and fifth placed candidates in the first round, but to no avail.

The politician who came in third in the first round of voting was Ilyas Labeeb, who won seven percent of the ballots cast. Labeeb was the candidate of the Democrats, a party founded by Parliament Speaker and former President Mohamed Nasheed, who fell out with Solih after losing a bitterly contested presidential primary earlier this year.

Nasheed and the Democrats accuse Solih of failing to fulfil campaign pledges he made in 2018 to ensure justice for the Maldives’s biggest corruption scandal as well as the al-Qaeda-linked killings. They also accuse his government of putting in place a vast system of patronage, using state-owned enterprises to buy out the media and hand out thousands of jobs to ensure political loyalty.

The government denies the claims.

Without the backing of the Democrats, Solih comes to the second round with a “significant disadvantage”, said Ahmed Shaheed, a former Maldives foreign minister and professor of international human rights law at the University of Essex in the United Kingdom.

“It is quite striking that [Solih] has not managed to put together a firm coalition. And without an open endorsement from [Nasheed], it is unlikely the Democrats will vote for Solih,” Shaheed said.

“It’s going to be a very tight contest,” he added. “I don’t think anyone is in a position to comfortably declare that the election is theirs.”

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

State.gov

https://www.state.gov/countries-areas/maldives

Maldives - United States Department of State 

U.S.-Maldives Relations ... The United States established diplomatic relations with Maldives in 1966 following its independence from the United Kingdom and has ...

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Maldives Overview: Development news, research, data | World ... 

The economy is heavily dependent on tourism which has been the main driver of economic growth in Maldives and the dependence on tourism makes the country highly ...

Mapping The Maldives: Why Hydrography Is The New Geopolitics Of The Indian Ocean – Analysis

December 28, 2025 
IPCS
By Sayantan Bandyopadhyay

Malé, the capital of the Maldives, witnessed a large ‘Lootuvaifi’ (‘Stop the Looting’) rally on 3 October 2025. This was the biggest public demonstration against President Mohamed Muizzu since his election. The opposition Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) issued five key demands during the rally. Strikingly, none addressed the protection of the country’s hydrographic information and maritime data.

This omission comes against the backdrop of China’s expanding presence in the Indian Ocean. Despite President Muizzu’s commitment to the Maldives mapping its own waters, his government has signed opaque agreements with China for hydrographic mapping, and allowed China’s dual-use research vessel, Xiang Yang Hong 03, to dock in Malé. These developments introduce new uncertainties regarding Beijing’s intentions, and raise serious questions about the Maldives’ maritime sovereignty.
Hydrography and Strategic Cartography

Hydrography has emerged as an important instrument in Indian Ocean geopolitics. Whoever has greater control over oceanic data can wield it to their geopolitical advantage. For smaller states like the Maldives, hydrography thus is both a development and a security issue. For context, hydrography is the science of measuring and describing the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, and the seabed. Though it may seem benign, its use goes beyond mapping. Hydrographic data, as per the International Hydrographic Organisation, is a foundational asset for maritime governance and state rights. It involves collecting and analysing data on water depths, tides, currents, and shorelines, physical features such as seabed compositions, and underwater obstructions, to describe and predict changes over a period of time.

Hydrography supports essential civilian uses, including safe navigation, resource management, infrastructure planning, disaster prediction, and scientific research. It is also a dual-usetechnology with significant military applications in strategic planning, battlefield operations, maritime domain awareness, intelligence, surveillance, and equipment testing. Hydrography provides the data for strategic cartography, where maps become tools of influence, surveillance, leverage, and territorial control. The UK’s post-1982 hydrographic activities in the Falklands, China’s use of cartography to legitimise claims in the South China Sea, and the US Navy’s Freedom of Navigation Operations to contest Chinese claims all illustrate how mapping functions as a tool of maritime power.


Maldives’ Pursuit of Hydrographic Autonomy

With 1,192 islands, a total land area of 298 sq km, and an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) spanning 900,000 sq km, the Maldives faces a strategic cartography challenge in mapping the entirety of its EEZ. After cancelling its 2024 hydrographic cooperation agreement with India, President Muizzu announced that the Maldives would conduct its own surveys to safeguard marine data. However, debts ranging from US$ 557 million in 2025 and over US$ 1 billion in 2026 complicate the Maldives’ ability to import the necessary hardware and software for this exercise.

The now-terminated India-Maldives agreement had enabled the Maldives to gain capacity-building, technical training, and to conduct hydrographic surveys under the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) leadership. The decision to end the agreement stemmed from Muizzu’s ‘Maldives First’ policy announced in 2023, which sought to assert national autonomy in maritime governance and reduce external dependence. Malé, following the termination of the agreement, sought to indigenise hydrographic activities by engaging domestic firms. However, limited technical expertise and lack of sophisticated equipment necessary for independent operations stymied their efforts.

China’s interest in the Indian Ocean region poses strategic challenges for small island states such as the Maldives in safeguarding hydrographic data. The Chinese survey vessel docking in Malé after conducting hydrographic surveys in the Maldives’ EEZ, followed by a 2025 agreement between the Maldives Environmental Protection Agency and the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, has heightened concerns about opaque data collection. Maldivian media have reported on China retaining exclusive data access of seabed devices and fish-aggregating systems capable of monitoring currents, acoustics, and the movement of ships and submarines. China has a history of using hydrographic data in the South China Sea for sea-denial and A2/AD (anti-access/area-denial) strategies. This is a serious development for the Maldives’ data sovereignty, with downstream implications for other regional and extra-regional actors such as India, the US, France, Japan, and Australia.
Way Forward

The Maldives has sought to address capacity gaps and balance against external monopoly by seeking assistance from abroad. If developed fully, such a strategy would have the long-term goal of transforming the country into a hydrography powerhouse, strengthen its maritime agency, and protect its blue economy. The short-term approach would involve prioritising existing resources and building domestic capacity through selective and transparent international partnerships. A hedging strategy remains its most viable path, with partnerships based on transparency, economic benefits, and data autonomy. Malé has already approached partners such as Australia for hydrographic equipment. The maritime security provisions of the 2020 Maldives US Defence Framework Agreement can also be used for future hydrographic capacity-building. India, too, offers a credible model with a record of transparent, win-win hydrographic cooperation. China may also be leveraged cautiously as it recalibrates its image toward capacity-building.

About the author: Sayantan Bandyopadhyay is a doctoral research scholar with the Centre for South Asian Studies (CSAS) at the School of International Studies (SIS), JNU, New Delhi.

Source: This article was published by IPCS


IPCS

IPCS (Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies) conducts independent research on conventional and non-conventional security issues in the region and shares its findings with policy makers and the public. It provides a forum for discussion with the strategic community on strategic issues and strives to explore alternatives. Moreover, it works towards building capacity among young scholars for greater refinement of their analyses of South Asian security.

 

Controversial Chinese Research Vessel Schedules Port Call in Maldives

Xaing Yang Hong 3 which is due in the Maldives has created controversies in Sri Lanka and Indonesia in the past (Bakamla file photo)

PUBLISHED JAN 26, 2024 8:47 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

Tensions are being sparked in the Indian Ocean region with news that a Chinese marine research vessel, Xiang Yang Hong 03, will be making a visit to the Maldives starting next week. News of the visit has raised questions if the new president of the Maldives, Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, is attempting to form closer ties with China and draw away from the relationship with India fostered by his predecessor.

The Chinese research vessel is part of an ongoing controversy across the region. Officially it is reported to be conducting distant water and deep sea surveys on behalf of China’s Pilot Ocean Laboratory. Built in 2016, the vessel is part of a fleet of ocean research vessels launched by China and since 2019 has been reported to be conducting scientific research. Analysts however note that China appears to be blurring the lines between scientific and military research.

Tracking services are reporting the vessel recently entered the Indian Ocean. They said it had transited the Sunda Strait in Indonesia and was heading toward the Maldives. The vessel which approximately is 4,800 tons had been said to be planning a stop in Sri Lanka around the beginning of the year. However, reports surfaced that Sri Lanka informed China it was imposing a one-year moratorium on Chinese research vessels from docking in the country’s ports.

Sri Lanka has been under pressure from the United States and India to curb the activities of the Chinese in the region. India has adamantly opposed the increase of activities by Chinese research vessels in all parts of the Indian Ocean.

The Maldives President just concluded a diplomatic visit with China reporting that they had reached terms on a broad range of agreements. This was followed by the announcement on January 23 that the Chinese government had requested the necessary clearances from the government of the Maldives for a port call by the Xiang Yang Hong 03. 

The vessel is officially reported to have the capabilities to conduct studies ranging from the salinity of the ocean to underwater mineral exploration, underwater and environmental studies. It is believed it is also used for mapping surveys. 

The government of the Maldives in December reported it would be terminating a hydrography agreement with India for the water of the Maldives. The official position is that the information belongs to the Maldives and they do not want to have international studies, but many questioned if it was another sign of a cooling of the relationship between the new government and India, which had been pursued by the previous president. The agreement with India requires six months’ notice for termination which is now scheduled for June 2024.

“The Maldives has always been a welcoming destination for vessels of friendly countries and continues to host both civilian and military vessels making port calls for peaceful purposes. Such port calls not only enhance bilateral ties between the Maldives and its partner countries, but also demonstrate the centuries old tradition of the Maldivian people welcoming vessels from friendly countries,” the government wrote in an official statement addressing the media reports over the arrival of the Chinese ship.

The government of the Maldives said the clearances sought were to make a port call for rotation of personnel and replenishment. They emphasized the vessel would not be conducting any research while in the Maldivian waters. The Xiang Yang Hong 03 is due to arrive in the capital of the country, Malé, on January 30. It is unclear how long it will be staying. 

China sends glacial water from Tibet to the Maldives, raising concerns

Tibetans meanwhile are being told to save water as Beijing engages in water diplomacy.

By Lobsang, Tenzin Pema and Tenzin Dickyi for RFA Tibetan
2024.06.05

Maldives residents carry jugs of water distributed by Red Crescent and security personnel after a fire at a desalination plant affected water supplies in Malé, capital of the Maldives, Dec. 5, 2014.

 Haveeru/AFP

China gifted 3,000 metric tons of Tibet’s glacial water to the island nation of the Maldives in two separate batches in March and May — the same months it unveiled and implemented water conservation regulations at home.

The Water Conservation Regulations set limits on water usage within administrative regions and prioritizes water conversation work in Tibet and other parts of China. 

They were issued by China’s State Council on March 20, a week before it sent the first delivery of 1,500 metric tons of water in jugs to the Maldives, which is experiencing a scarcity of fresh water. 

The regulations then went into effect on May 1, weeks before China donated the second batch of water jugs. 

China finalized the deal with the Maldives during a November 2023 visit by Yan Jinhai, chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, to the low-lying archipelago threatened by rising sea levels.

The Maldives has forged strong bilateral relations with China and is a beneficiary of the Belt and Road Initiative, under which it has borrowed more than US$1 billion from Chinese banks in the past decade, according to Western think tanks. 

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu signed 20 agreements, including one for financial and military assistance, with Beijing during his inaugural state visit to China in January 2024.  

The Maldives thanked the people of Tibet for their “generous donation,” which it expects will greatly support its island communities. Its freshwater resources are affected by erratic rainfall patterns and rising sea levels.

Water shortages in Tibet

But Tibetans inside Tibet said they face water shortages themselves because Chinese authorities have implemented systematic water conservation and management campaigns across various Tibetan villages and towns for over a decade.

This has occurred while authorities have restricted the availability of water and set limits on water usage at the local level.

Maldivian security personnel load a water tank onto a military vehicle to fill it with treated water in Malé, capital of the Maldives, Dec. 5, 2014. The capital is located on a low-lying island in the Indian Ocean that has no natural water source and depends entirely on treated seawater. (Sinan Hussain/AP)

“I have heard that China is donating bottled water from Tibet to other parts of the world for free for political gain,” said one source from the Tibet Autonomous Region, where Chinese authorities have carried out water conservation campaigns for over a decade. 

“However, in Tibet, the local Tibetans do not have enough drinking water,” he said. “At times there isn’t enough water to even brush our teeth.”

On March 27, the same day the Maldives said it received the first batch of water, the Water Conservancy Bureau of Ngari Prefecture, or Ali in Chinese, the birthplace of key South Asian rivers, began a series of year-long events for the general public to promote water conservation.

In Nyingtri city, or Linzhi in Chinese, authorities have implemented the strictest water resources management system over the past several years and boast of its effectiveness. 

“The water used to wash rice and vegetables can be used to mop the floor and water the flowers. ... Nowadays, water-saving behaviors like this have become a conscious action of many citizens,” said a 2023 announcement by the city government.

Meanwhile, Tibetans who have grown up on their ancestral land in Gangkar township in Dingri county, called Tingri in Chinese, are being forced to relocate to make way for the expansion of China’s water bottling facilities and industry, two sources said. 

“Gangkar is known for its fertile pastureland and significant water resources from glaciers with 15 water springs in the region, which the local Tibetans have always relied on for their livelihoods,” said the first source. 

Chinese authorities plan to move about 430 residents to take control of the water resources from the land, he said.

Weaponizing water

China’s move signals it is engaging in “water politics” and playing the long game for geopolitical gains in South Asia, experts said. 

The Chinese government has projects underway to extract clean, clear and mineral-rich water to support the expansion of its premium mineral bottled water industry, they said.

H.E. Yan Jinhai (L), chairman of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, pays a courtesy call to Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu in Malé, capital of the Maldives, Nov. 21, 2023. (President’s Office/Republic of Maldives)

Beijing also wants to control water flows to lower riparian states such as India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, to further its own aspiration of regional dominance, experts said.

“The imperative to address the threat of China weaponizing water in Tibet cannot be overstated,” wrote scholars Neeraj Singh Manhas and Rahul Lad in a March report titled "China's Weaponization of Water in Tibet A Lesson for the Lower Riparian States" in the Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs.

With approximately 87,000 dams built, China poses a historic threat, having already dammed most internal rivers, they add, while calling for proactive measures to implement enduring policies to protect these vital Tibet’s water resources.

Tibet is at the forefront of China’s “water wars” in the region, said Anushka Saxena, a research analyst at the Takshashila Institution, a public policy think tank in India. 

Tibet’s eight major transboundary river systems have the capacity to turn China into “Asia’s water hegemon,” given that their water can be used for both domestic economic and foreign policy-related interests, as well as can be weaponized to cause harm to lower riparian states, she said.

“In that light, China’s moves vis-à-vis export of water to Maldives cannot be isolated from the larger approach China is adopting to using Tibet’s water resources,” she added.

Additional reporting by Dorjee Damdul for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.