Exclusive | President Muizzu making a 'losing gamble': Maldives former VP on anti-India stance

President Muizzu is making a big gamble and it is a 'losing gamble', says Maldives former Vice-President Ahmed Adeeb. Referring to President's Muizzu's China visit, Adeeb said the Maldivian President should have first visited the neighbouring country India to balance foreign policy. Exclusive interview with ETV Bharat's Chandrakala Choudhury.

New Delhi : Expressing concern over the diplomatic spat between India and Maldives, former Maldives vice-president Ahmed Adeeb on Wednesday said that his country is already in debt and is going in the same way as Sri Lanka after falling prey to Chinese influence. Enhancing ties with China and straining relations with the oldest traditional allies of Male, at this critical juncture, will be nothing but 'complete stupidity' on the part of the Male government, he said.

In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, Adeeb said that President Muizzu has inherited a party from former President Yameen who ran India-out campaign. "Muizzu is appeasing those extreme elements to play politics, which is very misfortunate for the Maldives because currently, Male needs support from India."

Ahmed Adeeb said that after Covid, the Chinese market has still not increased and tourist inflow from China is limited even now. At the moment, Muizzu is trying to shift his policy and trying to appease party people which is not going to work, he added.

Adeeb said that Muizzu is making a big gamble and it is a 'losing gamble', adding: “It is safer to rely on an already established reliable partner like India. “As a norm, he (Muizzu) should have first visited India and then he should have balanced the foreign policy and visited other countries. We should start from our neighborhood and live with our neighbors and maintain a very good relationship”.

This comes at a time when Maldivian President Mohammad Muizzu is on a state visit to China amid the diplomatic tussle between Male and India over the derogatory remarks made by senior Maldivian ministers against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Commenting on the hate remarks being made by few Maldivian politicians against India, Adeeb said that Maldives should make sure that it never happens again. "Just merely suspending the ministers is not enough. They should be removed from the office as well as there should be an apology from the Male Government. Muizzu should reach out to PM Modi. The situation is escalating and it has grown into a full-blown diplomatic crisis. There is lot of backlash from Indians. So, we should resolve it as soon as possible”, said Ahmed Adeeb.

“The Maldivian govt should be more responsible and Male cannot afford to leave India and take just one side. We are interconnected and also in the historical context, Maldives needs lot of help at this time. India has been always there for the last five years. We need foreign aid and budget support from India because we need to pay off $1 billion in debt which will be realised in 2026. Even President Muizzu will realise with time that this cannot be afforded. This is the time when the Govt of Maldives should calm the situation”.

On Sunday, the Maldives government suspended three ministers — Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna, and Abdulla Mahzoon Maajid — for their disparaging comments against Modi and Indians.

The remarks created a fuss in India and prompted calls to boycott traveling to Maldives — an island nation that heavily depends on tourism. More so, Indians are among the largest group of tourists to annually visit Maldives.

Further, the former Maldivian Vice President noted that “Maldives is a small country and the Male govt should take every decision to benefit our people and our country. And I don't think the decisions taken in the last 60 days are going to benefit the people of Maldives”.

Tension between India and Male has been simmering over the past few months. Muizzu took over as President in November 2023. In his election campaign, he said he would remove a small contingent of some 75 Indian military personnel in his island nation and change Maldives's "India first" policy. PM Modi, subsequently did not attend Muizzu’s oath-taking ceremony, unlike in the case of his predecessors.

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