The Joint Ocean Observation Station was a planned maritime observatory to be built on Makunudhoo in

the Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about from the Asian c ...

, to be operated by the

State Oceanic Administration The State Oceanic Administration (SOA; ) was an administrative agency subordinate to the Ministry of Land and Resources, responsible for the supervision and management of sea area in the People's Republic of China and coastal environmental pro ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and the Ministry of Environment and Energy of the Maldives.

History

The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

and oppositional

Maldivian Democratic Party The Maldivian Democratic Party (, ''Dhivehi Rayyithunge Demokretik Paati''; MDP) is the first political party formed in the Republic of Maldives. The party is supportive of the promotion of human rights and democracy in the Maldives. It won ...

have argued that the observatory will be used for military applications by China. The

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China is the first-ranked Ministries of the People's Republic of China, executive department of the State Council of China, responsible for the country's Foreign relations of China, f ...

has denied that the observatory will serve any military purpose. The observatory was scrapped in 2019.

References

{{reflist Foreign relations of the Maldives China–Maldives relations