Maldives Prez, First Lady head to China amid row over ministers' remarks against PM Modi

Maldives President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and First Lady Sajidha Mohamed departed to China on a state visit last night.

This visit is being made following an invitation from the President of China, Xi Jinping.

A high-level delegation will accompany the President and the First Lady on the visit, the President's Office said.

This comes amid the ongoing tensions between India and Maldives that led the President of the Maldives to suspend 3 deputy ministers of his government to avert a diplomatic row between New Delhi and Malé after they made disparaging remarks against PM Modi regarding his visit to Lakshadweep.

The row erupted even as Muizzu recently asked India to withdraw its military personnel from the Maldives. His government also moved to scrap a bilateral deal that allowed India to conduct hydrographic surveys in the territorial waters of the Maldives.

The twin moves triggered speculations in New Delhi about the new regime in Malé, since the new government has reversed the erstwhile government’s ‘India First’ policy and is steering the Indian Ocean archipelago back into the expanding orbit of China's geopolitical influence.

More to follow....