'We may be small, but...': Maldives President Muizzu reacts after visiting China amid row with India

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu on Saturday, after returning from a five-day visit to China, said that no country had the right to "bully" the island nation. Muizzu's statement came amid a diplomatic row between India and the Maldives after Maldivian politicians made derogatory remarks against PM Narendra Modi's recent visit to Lakshadweep.

"We may be small, but that doesn’t give you the license to bully us," Mohamed Muizzu said at a press conference on Saturday, January 13. He was speaking to media persons after a week-long visit to China. A video of his remarks is going viral.

Tensions flared up between India and Maldives following Prime Minister Modi's visit to Lakshadweep to boost tourism in the Union Territory. In response to the visit, three Deputy Ministers of Maldives publicly criticised PM Modi, claiming that India was attempting to promote Lakshadweep as a competing tourist destination to Maldives.

Following this, India raised the matter with the Maldives, three ministers were suspended from their posts on January 7.

On the other hand, Indians started trolling the island country and #BycottMaldives started trending on X (formerly Twitter). Online travel company EaseMyTrip suspended flight bookings to the Maldives amid the row.  

After the situation intensified, the Maldives government released a statement clarifying its position and distancing itself from the comments made by the dismissed ministers. 

The Maldives government asserted that the statements made by the ministers in question are their personal opinions and do not reflect the stance of the government. The government reiterated that it is not involved in this matter.

Maldives President Muizzu, on his part, asked China to "intensify" efforts to send more tourists to the island nation.

"China was our (Maldives') number one market pre-Covid, and it is my request that we intensify efforts for China to regain this position," a post on his official website said.

But as per an analysis by the Indian Express, India was the top source market for tourism for Maldives since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tourism ministry data showed, in 2023, Indians accounted for 11.2 per cent of the total tourist arrivals—18.42 lakh—in the island nation, with Russia being a close second with a share of 11.1 per cent. 

India is the biggest market for many destinations, particularly in its neighboring countries like Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan, as well as Dubai. It also holds a prominent position among the top five markets for countries like Thailand and Singapore, according to CAPA India. The organization also predicts that more countries will soon join this list as the number of Indians traveling abroad continues to increase.

Also read: Maldives tourism row: China’s Xi Jinping, Maldives’ Mohamed Muizzu hold extensive talks, sign 20 key agreements

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