Small states in the eastern hemisphere are at risk of being dragged into the orbit of either China or India, a former Asian president said Friday.
But Mohamed Waheed Hassan, who led the Maldives in 2012 and 2013, added that there's an area the region's superpowers and its smaller nations could easily work together on.
"Emerging markets are caught between big powers," he told CNBC. "All small states, whether they are developed or underdeveloped, are going through this experience," he said, citing Singapore and Sri Lanka as fellow Asian nations facing the same challenge of appeasing both their Chinese and Indian neighbors.
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As part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, a multi-billion dollar spending plan to revive ancient trading routes, it is "heavily involved" in a $830 million plan to upgrade the Maldives' international airport in the capital Male. China is also financing the building of a new population center and bridge nearby costing $400 million, according to a March report by Washington-based think tank the Center for Global Development.
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