Indian government has stated that it expects the Maldivian state to entertain concerns of India and uphold an 'India First' policy.
During a press conference held on Thursday, India's External Affairs Ministry's spokesperson Sri Ravish Kumar upon being questioned about his opinion regarding the China-Maldives free trade agreement had said that he had not read the details about the arrangement and thus would not be appropriate to comment over it without properly assessing the situation.
However he had stressed that Maldives and India enjoys a long-running diplomatic relationship and the South-Asian giant is always ready to congratulate and welcome socio-economic development and progress in Maldives.
Kumar had also expects Maldivian state to respect India's concerns and opinions regarding issues related to the entire region as well as uphold an "India First" policy rooting from the decade long partnership between the two nations.
This is the first time India has spoken publicly opining about the recently inked FTA between Maldives and India.
Maldives president Abdulla Yameen who recently made his maiden visit to China on the invitation of Xi Jinping had also agreed to participate in China-led Silk Route project. Additionally Maldives had signed in several other agreements, with a total of 12 distinctive deals inked during the visit.
Political and international relations analysts ponder over the diplomatic tensions that may or may not rise from Maldives' partnering up with China for a project that has best interests of several other South-Asian countries in it.
Furthermore, both India and China - global powerhouses are almost at stranglehold with each other over the Indian Ocean dispute. China is believed to have been strategically gaining control of the region while India is seemingly the most capable counter to Asian giant's advancements.
