Anti-India editorial under fire from Maldives opposition

The joint-opposition coalition has condemned a pro-government news website for attacking India’s prime minister and promoting anti-India sentiments.

The editorial, published in Vaguthu, was titled “India is not a best friend, but an enemy!” and said the way India treated the Maldives had changed despite the “heart-to-heart” relationship the two countries had traditionally enjoyed.

India now viewed the Maldives with “envy, full of self-interest and hostility” the editorial read.

Relations between the two countries have been in the spotlight since the Maldives signed a massive free trade agreement with China, apparently catching India off guard. Articles in Chinese state media, taking a swipe at New Delhi, have stirred things up as has Malé’s decision to suspend three councillors for meeting India’s ambassador to the Maldives.