China willing to work with ‘new’ Maldives

Beijing, September 25 

China on Tuesday extended a guarded welcome to the election of Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, widely viewed as an ally of India, as Maldives’ new President, a day after he defeated the pro-Beijing incumbent, Abdullah Yameen, and expressed hope that the new government would keep a conducive environment for Chinese investments.

China is willing to work with Maldives to consolidate “our friendship and deepen the cooperation between the two countries”, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing here. 

The victory of Solih has a geopolitical significance in the South Asian region as the archipelago is strategically located in the Indian Ocean where China is flexing its muscles. Maldives under Yameen also became an “important partner” in China’s 21st century maritime Silk Road, despite India’s serious reservations over its impact in the Indian Ocean.

In 2014, the island nation had signed a MoU with Beijing in support of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a project which is opposed by India as it includes the China Pakistan-Economic Corridor which transverses through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. 

China had also opposed any external mediation, including by the UN, when the Yameen government early this year imprisoned Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed, former president MA Gayoom and other opposition politicians, saying that the crisis in the nation is its internal affair and should be resolved through dialogue and consultations by all relevant parties.

“China congratulates the Maldives on its successful presidential election as well as Solih’s victory,” Geng said in a guarded reaction. 

The comments were China’s first reaction to Solih’s unexpected victory on Monday. India, US and several other countries had congratulated him on Monday itself.

“China and Maldives enjoy traditional friendship. In recent years, the two countries maintained very sound development momentum and we have conducted mutually beneficial cooperation under framework of the BRI and achieved outstanding outcomes,” Geng said. — PTI

Yameen’s defeat is a Setback for Beijing: analysts

• Analysts say Yameen’s defeat is another setback for China after the ouster of former Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Malaysian premier Najib Razak from power, which prompted China to reconfigure its investments
• While Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang was guarded in his comments on Tuesday, China’s senior strategic analyst Hu Shisheng said the China card is played in Maldives polls not only by the political parties but also by India

Lanka ready to welcome defeated prez Yameen   

• Sri Lanka said on Tuesday it is ready to welcome outgoing Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen, days after his surprise defeat in the election. PM Ranil Wickremesinghe has spoken on the phone to Yameen, the premier’s office said in a statement
• The statement also said that former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed, who is in exile in Colombo, had met Wickremesinghe on Monday and urged for the continuation of Sri Lankan investment in the Maldives
• Lanka has hosted several dissidents from nearby Maldives through years of political turmoil in the Indian Ocean archipelago, including hundreds of Yameen’s opponents since he became president in 2013