Maldives shall do nothing detrimental to India

Maldives shall never do anything that is detrimental to the interests of India, and will always remain as a close friend of India, says the President Mohamed Nasheed.

According to the Indian Newspaper IBN Live, the President said so speaking to reporters in the margin of the ongoing Meeting of the Leaders of the Commonwealth at Perth, Australia. IBN Live says that the President’s statement was a response to a question by an Indian reporter about India’s concerns over growing Chinese influence in the Maldives.

“The Maldives shall always be a friend of India, and I would assure all the Indian people of that. I believe that we can never make a better friend than India”, said the President.

The President also said that the Maldives would never do anything that is harmful for India’s national security, and noted that India had always lent a helping hand when the Maldives fell into difficult times, and expressed hope that this shall be so in the future as well.

Indian newspapers have recently stated more than once that Chinese influence over the Maldives has been increasing, and that it would pose a threat against India’s national security.