China-Maldives relations

The Maldives has remained one of India’s key maritime partners in the Indian Ocean neighborhood.

As Maldives looks to parliamentary and presidential elections in September 2023, the China-India choice maps neatly on to domestic political divides.

Both China and India have a stake in the drama surrounding the Maldives' upcoming presidential election.

Beijing and New Delhi's jostling for influence in Maldives cannot be separated from the island nation's domestic political wrangling.

Wang Yi’s visits to the Maldives and Sri Lanka signal Beijing’s priorities fairly clearly: it's focusing on South Asia and the Indian Ocean.

The Maldives has begun to realize a mutually beneficial relationship with India, and the Solih government means to maintain it despite a growing rhetoric stirring anti-India sentiments.

The Chinese envoy rejected the characterization of a 2017 free trade agreement between Male and Beijing by the incumbent speaker of the house and former president.

With a change of leadership in Male, the Maldives have turned back to India.

From reframing ties with China to advancing Maldivian democracy, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has a hard road ahead.

The state of emergency comes amid a high stakes game of regional rivalry.

Recent history suggests Indian intervention would carry steep consequences.