Amid row with India, Maldives president begins visit to China

Amid strained ties and ongoing diplomatic row with India, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu departed for China, marking the beginning of a state visit at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Muizzu, a pro-China leader, with First Lady Sajidha Mohamed departed for Beijing on Sunday night. Muizzu, who came to power, speaking high about his ‘Out India’ campaign, suspended three deputy ministers — Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna, and Abdulla Mahzoon Maajid — after derogatory comments posted by them on X (formerly Twitter) in response to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promotion of Lakshadweep archipelago for tourism.

Some from Maldives viewed PM Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep as an effort to draw tourists away from popular beach destination Maldives, whose 1,192 islands in the Indian Ocean are swamped with luxury resorts. However, responding to the derogatory posts by three of the country’s deputy minister, Maldives Foreign Ministry said: “The government of Maldives is aware of derogatory remarks on social media platforms against foreign leaders and high-ranking individuals. These opinions are personal and do not represent the views of the government of Maldives.” Maldives President’s China visit Muizzu’s visit to China also comes amid strained relations with India over the withdrawal of Indian troops from the country. He took over as President of Maldives in November last year and had issued an election pledge to remove a small contingent of some 75 Indian military personnel in his country and alter the Maldives’s “India-first” policy. Muizzu will be on a state visit to China till 12 January. During his stay, the Maldives President is expected to sign several agreements to further strengthen bilateral ties with Beijing. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Muizzu and Xi will hold talks and attend the signing ceremony of cooperation documents. Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Zhao Leji will meet with the Maldives President respectively. “China and the Maldives boast time-honoured friendship. In the past 52 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two countries have treated each other with respect and supported each other, setting a fine example of equality and mutual benefits between countries of different sizes,” the spokesperson said on Friday. Wang emphasised that this would be Muizzu’s first state visit to a foreign country since he took office. Maldives’ dependency on China Both India and China are competing for influence in Maldives over the past decade, but Muizzu’s government is considered to be leaning towards, with the island nation joining China’s “Belt and Road” initiative. As per the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) data, the Maldives owes China about $1.3 billion. China is Maldives’ largest external creditor, accounting for about 20 per cent of its total public debt. Meanwhile, India significantly contributes to the Maldivian economy through tourism, with Indians forming the largest group of tourists to the island nation, which is now facing issue with several people cancelling their visit to the Indian Ocean nation following remarks by three of its ministers.