New Delhi: Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, in a subtle dig at India amid ongoing tensions between the two countries, on Saturday said, “We may be small, but that doesn’t give you the license to bully us.” He was speaking upon returning from his five-day long first state visit to China.
“Though we have small islands in this ocean, we have a vast exclusive economic zone of 900,000 square kilometers. Maldives is one of the countries with the biggest share of this ocean. This ocean does not belong to a specific country,” he said, according to reports.
“This ocean also belongs to all countries situated in it. We aren’t in anyone’s backyard. We are an independent and sovereign state,” he added.
His comments come days after a row erupted as Maldivian politicians made disparaging remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indians at large, followed by several Indians calling for a tourism boycott of the island nation.
The Maldives government said the opinions expressed on social media were “personal” and didn’t represent the government’s views, but added that freedom of expression should be exercised in ways that “do not spread hatred, negativity and hinder close relationships between the Maldives and its international partners”.
In an indirect jab at the former Maldivian administration’s policies, Muizzu observed that the former administration had sought permission from a foreign country “to get up from one chair and sit on another chair”.
This is not what the Maldivian people want, and that no country should exert influence over the domestic affairs of the other, he noted.
Muizzu also announced that the Chinese government has pledged USD 130 million in assistance grants to the Maldives. Muizzu said the bulk of the assistance will be spent on redeveloping roads in Male. He added that Beijing does not interfere in Male’s internal affairs.
He stated that recognising free trade zones is the most crucial aspect of Maldives’ economic growth and that he had reviewed free trade zones in Xiamen, China.
On Thursday, China in a statement, said that it “firmly opposes external interference” in the internal affairs of the Maldives and supports the island nation’s sovereignty and independence.
Following bilateral talks, Beijing and Male signed 20 agreements covering several areas including disaster management, professional development, socio-economic cooperation and more.
According to local reports, Muizzu further noted that Male will also stop relying on particular countries for medicines and begin buying them directly from source countries.
“We will soon import drugs from various original pharmaceutical manufacturers in Europe and the United States. So the import of medicines from certain countries will also come to an end,” he said, according to local reports.
“We will hopefully stand on our own feet by ending dependence on certain people,” he added.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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