When the United States tried to seal a defense deal seven years ago with the Maldives, a sprawling and strategic archipelago, its plans were quietly torpedoed by a friend — India, which considers the Indian Ocean its sphere of influence.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit the Maldives this week after top-level talks in India — which offered open support when the Pentagon finally went ahead with a defense pact with the island nation in September.
What brought about the change, analysts say, is a deepening concern in New Delhi about China, which engaged in a deadly border clash with India this year and has been ramping up influence around South Asia, including in the Maldives.
