Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives Zhang Lizhong has once again clashed with Speaker Nasheed over remarks made by the former president while speaking at the Economic Summit ongoing in India.
Speaking at the summit, Nasheed made serious allegations against China, claiming that the country had played a part in the arrest of opposition leaders during the tenure of former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom.
Nasheed said any attempts made by China to interfere with the internal affairs of Maldives will be problematic. Acknowledging the strengthened relations between China and Maldives during the tenure of President Yameen, Nasheed said it was clearly known to him that the opposition leaders were arrested by the former government with China's cooperation.
Nasheed is notorious for making controversial statements on global platforms that casts China in a negative light. Such statements by Nasheed are usually followed by responses from Ambassador Zhang on social media.
Responding to Nasheed's most recent remarks, Ambassador Zhang posted a string of clarifications on popular social media platform Twitter.
In his tweets, Ambassador Zhang said the remarks by Nasheed were irresponsible, and said China develops ties with all countries based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and never interferes with any countries’ internal affairs.
While China doesn't export ideology, but shares development dividend, China and Maldives have set up a good example of state-to-state relations between big and small countries featuring equality and mutually-beneficial cooperation, said Ambassador Zhang.
Ambassador Zhang added that any attempt to drive a wedge between China and India is futile. While the China-India relations have transcended bilateral scope and have global and strategic significance, developing better relations with China and India simultaneously is in the best interest of the Maldives, said Zhang.
Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives Zhang Lizhong (L), Speaker Mohamed Nasheed (R)
