Maldives will not allow other countries to "bully", President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu told reporters upon conclusion of his state visit to China.
In sharp rhetoric aimed at neighboring India, Muizzu said that Maldives is not located in the backyard of any country.
"We are not in the backyard of any particular country. We are an independent and sovereign country. So this basis of territorial integrity is a basis on which China respects us very much," he said.
Muizzu said the Indian Ocean is not the property of any particular country and Maldives has a large share in this ocean.
"Even though our islands are small, we are a huge country with a very large exclusive economic zone of nine lakh square kilometers. Maldives is one country that holds the largest proportion of this ocean. This ocean is not the property of a specific country."
Without naming India directly, the President said that in the previous government "they had to get permission to get up from one seat and move to another." He repeated that "we will stand on our own feet without relying on anyone."
"China does not influence our internal affairs in any way," Muizzu claimed.
The President said he would end Maldives' dependence on India in various sectors and promised to stop bringing medicine from India and depending on India for medical treatment.
“We will hopefully stop bringing low-quality medicine and opt to bring medicine directly from the original manufacturer. We will hopefully change it to import medicine from Europe and the US."
Before concluding his remarks, Muizzu said "we might be a small country, but that does not give you the license to bully us."
