Maldives President Speaks Out Amid Tensions With India

"We are not a country in another country's backyard. We are an independent country," President Muizzu told reporters upon arriving in the Maldives capital Male on January 13. He has just completed a five-day visit to China this week, his first state visit as president.

“The policy of territorial integrity is a policy that China respects,” the leader said in the Maldivian language Dhivehi, according to local media. He then said in English: “We may be small, but that does not give you the right to bully us.”

President Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE MALDIVES

Mr Muizzu won the Maldives presidency in September last year amid growing geopolitical competition in the region. Among his pledges were to get India to withdraw a small contingent of troops stationed in the Maldives and improve relations with China.

Mr Muizzu's latest remarks come after tensions flared after three Maldivian government officials were reported to have used derogatory language in social media posts about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month.

The three officials were deputy ministers in the Maldives’ Ministry of Youth Affairs and were suspended by President Muizzu over the incident. They had commented on Mr Modi’s visit to India’s Lakshadweep Islands to promote local tourism , which lies just north of the Maldives.

In a statement on January 7, the Maldives government said the three officials’ comments were “personal and do not represent the views of the Maldives government.” The posts were later deleted, but the incident quickly caused tension in bilateral relations.

Bollywood actors and some of India's top cricketers have responded to calls to boycott tourism to the Maldives. Tourism accounts for nearly a third of the Maldives' total economy and Indians make up the largest group of foreign visitors.

Speaking to reporters on January 13, Muizzu said the Maldives would also cut its dependence on India for health and medical care, adding more countries where Maldivian citizens seeking medical treatment at government expense could go. Most of the eligible citizens are currently being treated in India, as well as a small number in Sri Lanka and Thailand, officials said.

In addition, Mr. Muizzu said most of the pharmaceuticals in Maldives are currently imported from India and Male will now look to import drugs from the US and European countries.

During Mr. Muizzu's visit to China, the two sides issued a joint statement on January 11, presenting the "broad consensus" the leaders had reached.

The two countries also signed a series of agreements. According to China's CCTV, the agreements covered "infrastructure construction, medical and health services, improving people's livelihoods, new energy sources, agriculture and marine environmental protection."

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