India warned over ‘ill-willed provocation’ towards Maldives

The Global Times said Indian media and officials had gone “out of their way to try and discredit” a newly opened US$200 million China-backed bridge connecting the capital with the airport island and the suburb of Hulhumalé.

It cited media reports that India’s ambassador to the Maldives had boycotted the bridge opening ceremony, and that the ambassadors from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had turned back from the event because of parking issues.

President Abdulla Yameen’s government has watered down the country’s traditional ‘India-first’ foreign policy to successfully court investment and assistance from New Delhi’s geopolitical rivals – China, Pakistan – and Saudi Arabia. It has also jailed several pro-India opposition figures, including former presidents Mohamed Nasheed and Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.