On Tuesday, the Maldives announced that the Chinese research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 03 would be calling at Male port as a result of a diplomatic request from the Chinese government for the required authorizations for personnel rotation and resupply.
“The Maldives has always been a welcoming destination for vessels of friendly countries and continues to host both civilian and military vessels making port calls for peaceful purposes,” the Maldives government mentioned in a statement.
The development takes place against the backdrop of a sharp decline in bilateral relations following President Mohamed Muizzu’s election victory last year. Muizzu has aimed to bring his nation closer to China.
According to sources informed of the development on Tuesday, the Chinese vessel was being tracked by the Indian Navy since it arrived in the Indian Ocean region on Monday via the Sunda strait in Indonesia.
The Chinese vessel would not be conducting any research while in the Maldivian waters, the Maldives said reacting to media reports regarding the port call of the Chinese Research vessel.
“Such port calls not only enhance bilateral ties between the Maldives and its partner countries, but also demonstrate the centuries old tradition of the Maldivian people welcoming vessels from friendly countries. The Maldives continues to uphold international best practices, and relevant international maritime law on all such cases,” the statement added.
The Chinese ship is sailing to Male after the government of Sri Lanka refused to allow it to dock.
“We remain committed to our projects and to taking them forward. We have been an important development partner of the Maldives. We remain committed to doing all things that we can do as a development partner of the Maldives,” ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal mentioned on January 18.
Muizzu made the request on January 14, during the first meeting of the high-level core group that India and the Maldives had formed in Male.
The core group set’s next meeting is scheduled to take place in India shortly. Meeting on the fringes of COP28 in December, Muizzu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to establish the high-level core group between India and the Maldives.
