Beijing: China has said that it does not want the crisis in Maldives to become another ‘flashpoint’ with India, reported the Press Trust of India.
While China officially continues to maintain that there should not be any external interference specially in the light of reports of India’s special forces ready for deployment, Beijing is also in touch with New Delhi to resolve the crisis, Chinese official sources said.
China doesn’t want Maldives to become another “flashpoint”, the sources have told PTI.
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Answering a spate of questions on the Maldives, including Friday’s telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, in which the situation in the Maldives figured prominently, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said international community should respect sovereignty and independence of the Maldives.
“The current situation in the Maldives is its internal affairs. It should be properly resolved through dialogue and consultations by all relevant parties,” he said.
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Maldives President Abdulla Yameen sent his Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed to China but India said it did not find the dates “suitable” for the visit of Maldives’ foreign minister as special envoy to New Delhi.
The UN Security Council too met to discuss the Maldives situation. Ahead of the meeting, UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca reported to have informed the top UN body that while there were no reports of violent clashes, “the situation in the Maldives is tense and may deteriorate even further”.
