Indians unable to access Maldives Foreign Ministry website amid row over Chinese research vessel
- New Delhi is closely monitoring the movement of a Chinese ship, which is en route to the Maldives and is expected to reach Male by 8 February
The Maldivian foreign ministry on Tuesday blocked access to its website for Indians amid a fresh row over a Chinese research vessel which is expected to reach the Maldives in days. The development comes as the India-Maldives diplomatic ties are at an all-time low after the election of Mohamed Muizzu as the President of the island nation.
New Delhi is closely monitoring the movement of a Chinese ship, which is en route to the Maldives and is expected to reach Male by 8 February. As per the reports, the Xiang Yang Hong 3 is currently sailing off around the coast of Indonesia and is expected to run an ocean survey operation in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
The Chinese ship in the Indian Ocean Region comes days after Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu visited China and the two countries decided to deepen cooperation for peace and stability at regional and global levels. Mohamed Muizzu's visit to China came amid a diplomatic row with India over derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Maldivian ministers.
Maldives and China signed the Action Plan for Building a China-Maldives Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership (2024-2028) during the meeting and inked other documents related to Belt and Road, economic and technical, blue economy, digital economy, green development, infrastructure construction, and assistance for people's livelihood.
China's Xiang Yang Hong 3 ship
Xiang Yang Hong 3 is China's spy ship, but is classified as a ‘research vessel’ with objective to map the floor of the Indian Ocean. As per a NDTV report, Xiang Yang Hong 3 provides data regarding the possibility of natural disasters and helps to mitigate the same.
The deteriorating relations between India and Maldives doesn't go well with India's tussle with China in the Indian Ocean Region as Chinese vessels were earlier spotted in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Djibouti. Maldives fits perfectly in China's ‘String of Pearls’ strategy which encircles India for domination of the Indian Ocean.
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