China and the Maldives upgraded their relationship on Wednesday during newly elected President Mohamed Muizzu’s first state visit to Beijing, following a campaign in which he cast China’s regional rival India as a threat to sovereignty.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, speaking at the Great Hall of the People, called Muizzu “an old friend” as the Asian giant set the stage for further investment in the Indian Ocean archipelago by agreeing to a “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership”.
This week, one of India’s largest travel platforms suspended flight bookings to the tourism-dependent Maldives on Monday after disparaging social media posts against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi embittered relations between the South Asian neighbors.
The Maldives government suspended deputy ministers Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid for calling Modi a “clown”, “terrorist” and “puppet of Israel” on social media platform X, in response to a video of him visiting the Indian islands of Lakshadweep, north of the Maldives, to promote local tourism.
Even though New Delhi and Male have traditionally had close ties, relations have been tense since President Mohamed Muizzu came to power in November winning the election on an ‘India Out’ campaign.
Many Indians, including some celebrities, shared social media posts promoting domestic destinations
over the Maldives. New Delhi has summoned Maldivian envoy Ibrahim Shaheeb, a day after India’s mission in Male “strongly raised and expressed concerns” with the Maldivian foreign ministry on Sunday, a source aware of the matter said.
Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives Munu Mahawar also held a “pre-arranged” meeting with the Maldivian foreign ministry on Monday, the Indian mission said on X.
Tourism is the largest foreign exchange earner for the Maldives, with India and Russia sending the most visitors, around 209,000 each last year. Maldives is targeting 2 million arrivals for 2024.