‘Bullies Don’t Give USD 4.5 Billion Aid’: EAM Jaishankar's Veiled Dig At Maldives Amid Strained Ties

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar quipped that “big bullies” do not provide $4.5 billion aid to their neighbours in times of distress, in response to a question about whether India is being perceived as a “bully”.

Jaishankar’s response was an apparent reference to the Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu’s statement back in January when he had said that though his nation was small “it does not give countries the license to bully us”.

“The big change today in this part of the world is what has happened between India and its neighbours. When you say India is perceived as a big bully, you know, big bullies don’t provide USD 4.5 billion when the neighbours are in trouble. Big bullies don’t supply vaccines to other countries when Covid is on or make exceptions to their own rules to respond to food demands or fuel demands or fertilizer demands because some war in some other part of the world has complicated their lives,” Jaishankar said as quoted by Times of India.

The EAM highlighted that these actions demonstrate India’s commitment to supporting its neighbours during challenging times and also elaborated on the progress made in enhancing connectivity between India and its neighbouring countries.

“Today at the connectivity level, just the volume of people moving up and down, the volume of the trade which is there, the Investments which are there, it’s actually a very, very good story to tell. Not just with Nepal and Bangladesh, with Sri Lanka as well, I would say even with Maldives,” the EAM stated.

The relations between the two neighbours have deteriorated ever since President Mohamed Muizzu rode to power on anti-India posturing. Muizzu, widely seen as a pro-China leader, in his first presidential speech earlier this month said the first group of Indian military personnel will be sent back from the Maldives before March 10 and the remaining manning two aviation platforms will be withdrawn before May 10.

Some leaders from the ruling party in Maldives had made some derogatory remarks against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, leading to a low-key diplomatic row.

The Maldives’ proximity to India, barely 70 nautical miles from the island of Minicoy in Lakshadweep and 300 nautical miles from the mainland’s western coast, and its location at the hub of commercial sea lanes running through the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) gives it significant strategic importance.

The Maldives is India’s key maritime neighbour in the IOR and occupies a special place in its initiatives like SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the Neighbourhood First Policy’ of the Narendra Modi government.

(With PTI inputs)