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Maldives
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  • As Indian military begins withdrawing from Maldives, China’s defence ministry confirms a PLA delegation last week visited Male and met President Muizzu
  • Analysts look to broader China-India relations and US Indo-Pacific policy to assess implications of the Maldives’ ties with Beijing
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The Maldivian defence ministry said it had signed an ‘agreement on China’s provision of military assistance’ without giving further details. Some 89 Indian military personnel in the Indian Ocean nation will be gone by May 10.

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India’s navy has said it is bolstering forces on “strategically important” islands close to the Maldives, with a new base set to open just days before Male starts sending home Indian forces.

A holiday spot for celebrities from Taylor Swift to Tom Cruise to Britain’s Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Maldives has plenty to love about it – though Indians might presently disagree.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s JVP has long been anti-India. But New Delhi looks ready to set that aside as the political coalition he leads hones in on crisis-hit Sri Lanka’s presidency.

There is much attention on the changing “dynamics” in India-Maldives ties, but Maldivian leader Mohamed Muizzu has said the island nation still needs Delhi’s partnership.

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Returning home from a trip to Beijing, Muizzu said the Maldives was not in any country’s backyard and China respects the archipelago’s territorial integrity.

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Three Maldivian officials criticised India’s PM Modi on social media, sparking fury among Indians, who form the bulk of tourists to the archipelago nation.

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Newly elected President Mohamed Muizzu tells Invest Maldives business forum China is one of his country’s closest allies and developmental partners.

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The controversy came as Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, who won last year’s election with a pledge to end his country’s “India first” policy, prepared to visit China this week.

Binance workarounds allow mainland Chinese traders to sign up by listing their location as Taiwan, betraying the market’s importance to the world’s largest crypto exchange.

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India’s prime minister wants Indians’ nuptials to ‘take place on Indian soil’ instead of overseas. But his lament looks set to fall on deaf ears amid a culture of ‘keeping up with the Kapoors’.

President Mohamed Muizzu has scrapped plans to relocate citizens from the Indian Ocean archipelago, despite much of it being less than a metre above sea level and without fresh drinking water.

President Mohamed Muizzu, who is seen as pro-China, campaigned on a promise to evict Indian military personnel and balance trade, which he said was heavily in favour of India under his predecessor.

New Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu is considered more pro-China than his India-leaning predecessor, with collaboration in renewable energy projects seen to offer potential, according to a Hong Kong-based diplomat.

Mohamed Muizzu, who takes office on Friday, has vowed to expel Indian troops but does not want to redraw regional balance by bringing in Chinese forces instead.

The UN’s children’s agency said in a report that children in South Asia are at the highest risk of being exposed to high or extremely high water scarcity.

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Mohamed Muizzu promised to remove 75 Indian personnel from the region famous for its sun-kissed atolls and luxury tourist resorts in which India and China have invested millions of dollars.