Amid the ongoing row between India and the Maldives, Opposition leader and the Chairperson of the Maldivian Democratic Party, Fayyaz Ismail, has called for the government to take a "tougher stand" , saying that the racist comments against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were just isolated individual opinions.
"I believe the government should take a tougher stand on that because this goes beyond government to government. Now, because of the easy accessibility of social media, this has reached a lot of Indians and a lot of Maldivians. And as arguments take over from both sides, there have been a lot of insults going back and forth. So the government needs to show that there was no intention on its part. These were just isolated individual opinions of these people who, unfortunately, were given positions in the government. So that needs to be clearly shown to the Indians, to the Maldivians, and the entire world at large," he said.
On January 2, PM Modi visited the Union Territory of Lakshadweep and shared several pictures, including some of him trying his hand at snorkelling. In a series of posts on X, he wrote a message that read, “For those who wish to embrace the adventurer in them, Lakshadweep has to be on your list.”
In a post that has now been deleted, the Maldivian Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Mariyam Shiuna, made a mocking and disrespectful reference to PM Modi. Indians, including cricketers and film celebrities, have since come out in open support in promoting local beach destinations and other tourist spots.
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The Maldives Government has distanced itself from the remarks made by its Ministers. Three of them were suspended.
Maldivian Minister of Foreign Affairs Moosa Zameer said that these remarks against foreign leaders are “unacceptable” and do not reflect the official position of the Maldives Government.
Need to focus on mending ties
On being asked if the ongoing spat between the two countries is going to have an impact on the India-Maldives ties, as well the revenue that Indian tourists have generated for the island nation over the years, the Maldivian leader, who was also the former Minister of Economic Development of Maldives, asserted that it is much more than economics or revenue. "This relationship between India and Maldives has been nurtured and fostered over a long period of time by very mature leaders, past leaders of our country and yours as well. So just one or two tweets derailing this entire relationship is very sad," the Minister said.
"So, for me, the main problem is that this has gone beyond governments. Governments will always have spats; obviously, with the change of political parties, whether it's in India or Maldives, there will be differences of opinion," he added.
He further went on to say that he is more concerned about how to make the required repairs as the ongoing spat between India and the Maldives has now reached the people. "But now this has reached the people, and that is something I am more concerned about— how to repair that. So to repair that from our side, our government have to come up with a stronger statement or action on that. And I would hope that from the Indian colleagues, that there will be more restraint as well to try to diffuse this," he told ANI.
In terms of aid and assistance provided by India to Maldives, he said, "Yes, India has been a very strong development partner of Maldives, not only in terms of economics but social development as well. And at the same time, Maldives has been a strong, staunch ally of India across the international spectrum. So this is a mutual relationship."
"And the security and stability of the Indian Ocean region depend on the part played by each of the countries, whether large or small, in this region," he added, and urged that it is important that spat is forgotten as soon as possible for the interest of both countries.
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He said, "Yes, some people, nationalistic people from both countries, may say that Maldives may say, we can do without India, and Indians may say that you are a very small country. But no, that's not the correct approach. We will be here. India will be there. So we need to work together in tandem, which includes our governments and our people as well."
Furthermore, the Maldivian Minister added by saying that he has visited India a lot of times and has always wanted to visit Lakshadweep. ”And now that this has really come up, my interest is much more piqued and I would really take more steps for me to go and visit that beautiful nation. And I think there is a historical link between Maldives and Lakshadeep as well. There are Maldives-speaking people in one of those islands as well. So we have deep historical and religious roots as well. And I have always wanted to visit and see Maldivian people in another country. So, yes, I would definitely like to visit Lakshadeep,” the Minister said.
Maldives’ pro-China tilt
Meanwhile, on Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu's recent visit to China, where he was slated to meet Xi Jinping and sign key agreements, the Maldivian Opposition leader said that with the change in the political spectrum in Maldives, and in political parties, there will be always shifts in the intensity of engagement.
"Well, first of all, there is no doubt that the current government has a more favourable or more stronger relationship with China. The Maldives has always maintained friendly relations with all countries, except for Israel. So with the change in the political spectrum in Maldives, with the change in political parties, there will be always shifts in the intensity of engagement with different partners. And in this case, you're seeing more robust engagement with China rather than India," he said.
“Until now, we have always, all parties in the Maldives maintained an ‘India first’ policy, and that is also very crucial for our security and stability as well. But this government may have got different approaches to its foreign policy, and maintaining good relations with China is not an issue that any party in the Maldives would also want,” he noted.
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu urged China to “intensify” efforts to send more tourists to the Maldives during his ongoing five-day state visit to the East Asian country. Maldivian media reported that during President Muizzu’s visit, the two countries signed a $50 million project aimed at developing an integrated tourism zone in the Indian Ocean island.
The appeal for more Chinese tourists follows a diplomatic row initiated by derogatory remarks from some Maldivian Ministers against PM Modi, prompting the suspension of three Deputy Ministers and condemnation from the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI).
Recent data released by the Maldives Tourism Ministry shows that India was the largest tourist market for the country in 2023. Media reports cited data released by the Maldives Tourism Ministry stating that the highest number of visitors to the Maldives were from India (2,09,198 arrivals), followed by Russia (2,09,146 arrivals), and China (1,87,118 arrivals). In 2022, 2,40,000 arrivals were from India. Russia was in second place with 1,98,000 tourists, and Britain ranked third with over 1,77,000 arrivals.
