MALÉ (AFP) – The Maldives may be small but will not be bullied, the president said after returning from China, where he signed a raft of deals, as a row with New Delhi deepens.
New Delhi considers the Indian Ocean archipelago to be within its sphere of influence but the country has shifted to China’s orbit, the Maldives’ largest external creditor.
“We are not a country that is in the backyard of another country. We are an independent nation,” Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu told reporters on his arrival home on Saturday.
“This territorial integrity policy is one that China respects,” he said in the nation’s Dhivehi language, in the Mihaaru newspaper on Saturday.
With Beijing and New Delhi tussling for influence, Muizzu was elected in September after pledging to cultivate “strong ties” with China and eject Indian troops.
