{"id":16500,"date":"2024-03-06T12:46:22","date_gmt":"2024-03-06T12:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/06\/maldives-signs-china-military-pact-in-further-shift-away-from-india\/"},"modified":"2024-03-06T12:46:22","modified_gmt":"2024-03-06T12:46:22","slug":"maldives-signs-china-military-pact-in-further-shift-away-from-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/06\/maldives-signs-china-military-pact-in-further-shift-away-from-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Maldives signs China military pact in further shift away from India"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Maldives on Tuesday said China will provide\u00a0it with \u201cmilitary assistance,\u201d in the latest sign\u00a0that the Indian Ocean archipelago\u2019s pro-China shift is well under way following the election of President Mohamed Muizzu last year. <\/p>\n

The Maldivian Defense Ministry said it signed an agreement with Beijing Monday \u201con China\u2019s provision of military assistance\u201d and that the deal would foster \u201cstronger bilateral ties,\u201d according to a post on social media site X. <\/p>\n

Details of what the assistance would entail were not released but the ministry said the deal was \u201cgratis\u201d \u2014 or given for free. <\/p>\n

The move is part of\u00a0a push by President Muizzu since taking office in November to develop closer relations with China, following his \u201cIndia Out\u201d election campaign that promised to remove Indian troops from Maldivian soil and reassert \u201clost\u201d national sovereignty. <\/p>\n

In January, Muizzu set a deadline of March 15 for the complete withdrawal of Indian military personnel stationed in the archipelago nation, according to the president\u2019s office. An update from his office last month said negotiations had agreed troops would leave in stages, with the first withdrawing before March 10 and the rest before May 10. <\/p>\n

According to Reuters, there are 77 Indian soldiers and 12 medical personnel from the Indian armed forces in Maldives. India has also given Maldives two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft, which are mainly used for marine surveillance, search and rescue operations and medical evacuations, Reuters reported. <\/p>\n

The new deal with China marks a significant shift in Maldives\u2019 foreign policy from Muizzu\u2019s pro-India predecessor, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. <\/p>\n

The tiny South Asian nation is regarded internationally as a tourist destination popular for its white sand beaches and turquoise lagoons. <\/p>\n

But the archipelago of nearly 1,200 low-lying coral islands, with a population of fewer than half a million people, spreads over a swathe of strategically important waters and shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean. <\/p>\n

Given their geographic proximity and strong historic\u00a0and economic ties, India was for decades Maldives\u2019 closest partner and New Delhi viewed the region as part of its traditional sphere of influence. <\/p>\n

But Maldives has long found itself in the middle of a geopolitical tussle with both India and China vying for influence. <\/p>\n

China has increasingly expanded its footprint in Maldives, most visibly through large-scale infrastructure projects such as the $200 million China-Maldives Friendship Bridge. <\/p>\n

In January, Muizzu traveled to Beijing for a state visit and the two countries signed 20 agreements that included cooperation on infrastructure, trade, economy, green development, grants, and other development projects. <\/p>\n

That includes about $127 million in aid to develop roads in the capital Male and build 30,000 social housing units, according to a news release from the president\u2019s\u00a0office. <\/p>\n

During the trip, Muizzu hailed China as \u201cone of the closest allies and developmental partners of Maldives.\u201d <\/p>\n

China\u2019s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters Tuesday that Beijing is \u201ccommitted to working with the Maldives to build a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cNormal cooperation between China and the Maldives does not target any third party and will not be disrupted by any third party,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

In his presidential address on February 5, Muizzu said Maldives must fortify its military capabilities and its defense force was about to achieve round-the-clock surveillance capabilities over the nation\u2019s 900,000 square kilometer Exclusive Economic Zone. <\/p>\n

The government will also not renew an agreement that enables foreign countries to measure and map the oceans and coasts of Maldives, he said. <\/p>\n\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maldives on Tuesday said China will provide\u00a0it with \u201cmilitary assistance,\u201d in the latest sign\u00a0that the Indian Ocean archipelago\u2019s pro-China shift is well under way following the election of President Mohamed Muizzu last year. The Maldivian Defense Ministry said it signed an agreement with Beijing Monday \u201con China\u2019s provision of military assistance\u201d and that the deal <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":16501,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16500","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16500\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}