Congress MP's Reality Check On India's Relations With Its Neighbours (image@ ManishTewari)
Amid the diplomatic row between India and Maldives, over the Island ministers’ allegedly provocative comment on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep, Maldives President Muhammed Muizzu and First Lady Sajidha Mohammed, along with a delegation of senior government officials, arrived at China today, January 8. The invitation to visit China was extended by Chinese President X Jinping. The official visit is expected to continue until January 12.
Manish Tewari, Lok Sabha MP and Congress leader posed a question of India’s influence in South Asia. He said Indian “folks need to take a reality check”. Taking to X (formerly twitter), the Congress leader said Maldives is now under the sphere of Chinese influence, like how Sri Lanka has bend to the Chinese influence. He said China is “gobbling up” Bhutan territories, and have disproportionate influence over the polity in Nepal.
He went on to say that, Myanmar’s Military Junta has been under the grip of the Communist Party of China (CPC) for decades, and Pakistan has now become “a client state of China”. He said, “China has added proxies ties to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan”, and the influence of Chinese economy in Bangladesh is also climbing up the ladder. Manish Tewari took a jab at the ruling government and said that India is need of a reality check, over its influence on South Asia.
Maldives is now in the Chinese sphere of influence.
Sri Lanka has bent to the Chinese wind .
China is gobbling up territory in Bhutan.
China has accumulated disproportionate influence over the polity in Nepal.
The Military Junta in Myanmar for decades has been beholden to… https://t.co/ZbRMnBflNy
— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) January 8, 2024
The already fragile relation between Maldives and India has seen another blow when Maldives ministers made “derogatory comments” on PM Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep. The ministers claimed the Narendra Modi to be targeting Maldives by endorsing Lakshadweep, prompting Indians to visit the archipelago. Celebrities including Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar then took to their social media platforms encouraging Indian tourists to visit Indian Islands. The Maldives government then released a statement announcing the suspension of ministers who were involved in the issue.
