In an effort to promote tourism in Lakshadweep after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, several social media users ran a campaign with hashtags to boycott the Maldives. This elicited distasteful reactions from a section of Maldivian officials, including deputy ministers, which in turn led to a further war of words on social media. The Maldives suspended the deputy ministers — Malsha Shareef, Maryam Shiuna and Mahzoom Majid — for their comments on Mr. Modi and India and also clarified that their views were not official or shared by the government.
Moving closer to China
However, it is quite possible that the comments of the Maldivian officials were deliberate as they were made before the visit of the Maldivian president, Mohamed Muizzu, to China. Mr. Muizzu has taken a significant pro-China stand compared to his predecessor. His election campaign in 2023 also contained anti-India rhetoric: he promised to remove Indian troops from the Maldives and balance trade relations, which he claimed were heavily tilted in India’s favour. During his recent visit to China’s Fujian Province, Mr. Muizzu stated that the Maldives’ number one market before COVID-19 was China and appealed to China to “intensify” its efforts to regain that position. China and the Maldives also elevated their bilateral ties to a ‘comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership’. In addition, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China “respects and supports the Maldives in exploring a development path suited to its national conditions”. According to the vocabulary of Chinese diplomacy, this means that China wants the Maldives to emerge out of India’s shadows. This is consistent with China’s efforts elsewhere, including in the United Nations, to delegitimise existing norms and rules by referring to “national conditions” in its official statements. The new agreements will in all likelihood increase China’s presence in the Maldives and its waters and allow China an increased digital and physical surveillance capability.
