India, which considers itself the regional superpower, is already wary of increased Chinese involvement in the area - which it considers to be within its sphere of influence.
Eva Abdulla, an MP of with the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, said she feared the nation could become a front line for a potential power struggle between India and China.
"We can't ignore the fact there is a cold war brewing between India and China," she said.
"What is in our interest is peace and stability in the Indian Ocean. India is our neighbour and we are not a country in the South China Sea," she said referring to China's dispute with several countries over claims to the area.
Ahead of the vote, President Abdulla Yameen's half brother Maumoon Abdul Gayoom - the country's former leader - had urged further public debate on the controversial move.
"I have appealed to (the) president to seek public opinion on proposed constitutional amendment re land ownership before ratification," he tweeted.
Anand Kumar, a strategic affairs analyst at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, agreed that the law could help China gain a foothold in the Indian Ocean.
"They have been creating islands in South China Sea, and they will try to replicate the same exercise in Indian Ocean," he said. "They tried to do the same thing with Sri Lanka. It appears that since they have lost political influence in Sri Lanka, they are trying to regain the same ground in Maldives."
The government has said the move would not threaten the Maldives' sovereignty and was needed to attract large-scale foreign investment for projects.