President Muizzu, regarded as a pro-China leader, is entangled in a diplomatic row with India after three of his Ministers posted derogatory remarks against PM Modi

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu on January 11 met Chinese Premier Li Qiang and discussed ways to increase the number of tourists from China to his tourism-dependent country, besides the implementation of a host of new projects that Beijing has committed to undertake during his ongoing visit.

With Mr. Muizzu, regarded as a pro-China leader, now entangled in a diplomatic row with India after three of his Ministers posted derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he has been pressing Beijing to intensify efforts to increase Chinese tourist numbers to his country amid reports of spate cancellation of reservations by Indian tourists in protest against the Maldives Ministers derogatory comments.

Though Mr. Muizzu has suspended three Deputy Ministers who posted derogatory comments, this has already resulted in backlash from Indian tourists who flocked in far larger numbers to the Maldives.

China figured third after Russia in terms of number of tourists to the Indian Ocean island nation in 2023.

Chinese analysts say the strategically placed Maldives with a host of islands is significant for expanding China’s influence in the Indian Ocean region.

Although Maldives is a small country in terms of land area and population, in terms of geopolitics, it has very high strategic significance, Zhao Gancheng, a research fellow at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies said.

“The Indian Ocean is far from us, but it’s extremely important to the economic and energy security of our country, as well as the BRI, so China needs to try its best to make friends in the region,” Zhao told state-run Global Times.

China’s efforts to increase its influence in the Maldives took a backseat as the previous president Mohammad Solih during his tenure followed an India-first policy though he maintained good ties with China.

Mr. Muizzu’s visit to China is marred by the diplomatic row with India and the release of a report by the EU Election Observation Mission of Maldives that said the ruling coalition of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and the People’s National Congress (PNC) deployed anti-India sentiments and attempted to spread disinformation in the 2023 presidential elections in which Mr. Muizzu won. For More Visit The Hindu