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Maldives’ Free Trade Agreement with China Triggers Fight with India

India is reportedly reconsidering an aid package aimed at stabilizing the economy of the Maldives because the island nation signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with China. The Indian press reported that New Delhi feels President Mohamed Muizzu didn’t push through sufficient economic reforms. The FTA with China ...

Maldives’ Pro-China Leader in India to Repair Frail Ties

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu was given a red carpet welcome on his first state visit to India on Monday. The trip aimed at repairing frail ties between the South Asian neighbors. Pro-China Muizzu came to power a year ago on a ...

Maldives Leader Heads to India to Repair Frail Ties

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu will undertake his first state visit to India on Sunday, aiming to repair frail ties between the two South Asian neighbors. Pro-China Muizzu came to power a year ago on a promise to evict dozens of Indian ...

WEEK IN REVIEW: China Warns Citizens Abroad Against Seafood Poaching

The U.S. State Department imposed sanctions on a Chinese research institute and several companies it said have been involved in supplying Pakistan's ballistic missile program. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington, said, "China firmly opposes unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction that have no basis in international ...

Maldives Gets IMF Debt Warning as More Chinese Loans Loom

The International Monetary Fund warned the Maldives against looming "debt distress" Monday, as the small but strategically placed luxury tourist destination looks set to borrow more from main creditor China. Since winning office last year, President Mohamed Muizzu has reoriented the ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

BRICS Announces Numerous New Initiatives

The BRICS group wrapped up its two-day leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. The summit’s final communique is a 16,000-word doorstop that covers numerous issues from economics to education.
The communique avoids any direct mention of the United States, and references to “unilateralism” and other coded criticism are also relatively scarce. Rather, the communique keeps the focus on the BRICS’ vision of the strengthening and reform of the global multilateral system ...

‘China Is the Winner’ in Maldives Election

A landslide parliamentary election victory for the Maldives' pro-China president clears the way for him to redraw the physical and geopolitical map of his strategically-located Indian Ocean archipelago in Beijing's favor, diplomats and analysts say. President Mohamed Muizzu's party, the People's ...

Landslide Win for Pro-China Leader’s Party in Maldives Vote

By Mohamed Visham Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu's party won control of parliament in a Sunday election landslide, results showed, with voters backing his tilt towards China and away from regional powerhouse and traditional benefactor India. ...

Maldives Votes in the Shadow of India-China Rivalry

The Maldives votes Sunday in a parliamentary election likely to test President Mohamed Muizzu's tilt towards China and away from India, the luxury tourism hotspot's traditional benefactor. Primarily known as one of the most expensive holiday destinations in South Asia, with pristine ...

China Says Military Delegation Visited Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Nepal

A Chinese military delegation recently visited the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Nepal to discuss further cooperation in defense issues, Beijing said on Wednesday. China is seeking to build closer ties in South Asia to counter its strategic rival, India, for influence. ...

Two Chinese Research Vessels Operating in the Indian Ocean Are Making New Delhi Very Anxious

A pair of Chinese research ships currently deployed to the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) have sparked renewed fears among observers in India that the vessels are gathering military intelligence. The ships, Xiang Yang Hong 01 and Xiang Yang Hong 03, are ...

Maldives Signs China Defense Deal as India Prepares Exit

The Maldives has signed a "military assistance" deal with China after ordering Indian troops deployed in the small but strategically-placed archipelago to leave, officials said Tuesday. Some 89 Indian military personnel in the country will be gone by May 10 after ...

India Holds Sway Over the Maldives for Now but Not Forever, Says Scholar

The Maldives will remain under the political influence of India for the time being, but eventually, it will fall under the sway of China, according to Chinese scholar Zhu Fangfang, director of the Dhivehi Language Program at Beijing Foreign Studies University. ...
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