Former President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed has warned President Abdulla Yameen and his administration over the possibility of Maldives being 'thrown' into military crossfires.
The self-exiled former head of state warned incumbent president Yameen about the apparent gross misconduct by his administration in influencing the judicial system and locking out opposition lawmakers from parliament to transition for a more authoritarian conduct. In his tweet, Nasheed said that such abuse of law and complete disregard to foreign concerns could result in Maldives opening up for a critical situation such as war.
Meanwhile Foreign Minister Mohamed Asim who had met with Indian Ambassador to assure the country's internal policies welcome stronger diplomatic union between the two nations, and the recently inked China-Maldives free trade agreement would in no way severe the long existing ties between the two countries.
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.
India expects the Maldivian state to respect its 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.
Tension between India and China - both regarded as economic monoliths in South-Asian and East-Asian regions respectively - have been at intense levels with several international analysts speculating a possible 'power-play' by both nations to grab substantial hold in Indian Ocean. The situation had seemingly grossed to further sensitivity when Maldivian president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom made his maiden visit to China on its leader Xi Jinping's request.
