Nearly one week later after the dramatic regime change in the Maldives, China made its first official statement regarding policies towards the new government on Monday.
“As a friendly neighbor of the Maldives, China respects the Maldivian people’s independent choice, and sincerely hopes that the country can realise national stability, social harmony and economic development at an early date,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Weiming said yesterday in Beijing.
“On the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, the Chinese government would like to work closely with the new Maldivian government towards the stable, healthy and smooth growth of the bilateral relations,” he continued.
China’s “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence” has been the basis of its foreign policy for the past six decades. It advises mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity; mutual non-aggression; mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs; equality and mutual benefit; and peaceful coexistence.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives Yu Hongyao called on the new President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik at the president’s office in capital Male’ on Monday afternoon to offer his congratulations.
“What happened recently in the Maldives are the internal affairs of the countrymen,” he said. “We respect the choice of the Maldivians.”
During the meeting, President Waheed updated Ambassador Yu on the country’s evolving political situation and informed him that the government would take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of tourists visiting the Maldives. He added he would do everything possible to resolve all issues currently facing the country.
Tourist arrivals from China last year trumped those of the traditional European market, a reminder of the East’s economic success amidst the West’s current recession.
In a move to solidify its presence in the Maldives, China last year opened its Embassy in Male’.
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