Amidst the departure of the first batch of Indian military personnel from the Maldives, China declared its backing for the Maldives in safeguarding its sovereignty, signaling a diplomatic shift in the region.
The exit of Indian military personnel, who were overseeing helicopter operations in the Maldives, was marked by the handover of responsibilities to an Indian civilian crew, as reported by Maldivian media outlets.
Asked for his comments on the first batch of the Indian military personnel's withdrawal from the Maldives, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said he was not aware of the specifics.
“China supports Maldives in safeguarding the sovereignty and working with other countries on the basis of equality”, he said.
Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, seen as a pro-China leader, has affirmed that no Indian military personnel, not even those in civilian clothing, would be present inside his country after May 10.
President Muizzu asked India to withdraw nearly 90 military personnel from the Maldives and India has agreed to replace the military personnel with civilians and to continue the operations of two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft provided to the country for providing humanitarian and medical evacuation services.
Muizzu's government also allowed a sophisticated Chinese 'research ship' to dock at Male. Last week, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) signed a deal with China's military. Under this deal, China will supply 'non-lethal' weapons to the Maldives free of cost.
The Maldives President visited China in January during which the two countries announced the elevation of bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership besides signing 20 agreements to assist Maldives infrastructure.
China also announced a USD 130 million grant besides promising to send more Chinese tourists to the tourism-dependent Maldives.
After Muizzu’s visit, China is sending more of its tourists to Maldives on his request in an apparent attempt to reduce the dependence on Indian tourists who have recently topped the list of international tourists to the tourism-dependent country.
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