Maldives has suspended its three junior ministers over India’s protest on their derogatory remarks about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
President Mohamed Muizzu’s administration has been scrambling to contain diplomatic row with India.
Three junior ministers of recently elected President Mohamed Muizzu’s administration reportedly called Modi a “clown” in since-deleted social media posts last week.
The ministers’ comments were prompted by a social media post of Modi’s in which he praised the “pristine beaches” of Lakshadweep, an Indian island not far from the Maldives which his government has sought to promote as a tourist destination.
The row has continued despite Muizzu suspending the ministers Sunday, with local media reporting that the Maldivian envoy was summoned to the foreign ministry in New Delhi the following day.
Known as an expensive holiday destination with secluded resorts, the Maldives is also a geopolitical hotspot where India and China are competing for influence.
Global east-west shipping lanes pass the nation’s chain of 1,192 tiny coral islands, stretching around 800 kilometres (500 miles) across the equator.
India’s government traditionally considered the Maldives, home to around half a million people, to be within its sphere of influence.
Muizzu, currently visiting China on his first official state visit since coming to power last year, was elected after pledging to expel Indian troops stationed in the Maldives.
