Maldives leader says his country’s small size isn’t a license to bully in apparent swipe at India
Associated PressMALE, Maldives — The president of the Maldives said Saturday that his country’s small size doesn’t give anyone the license to bully it, in a sign of defiance toward India, the archipelago state’s giant neighbor. President Mohamed Muizzu, speaking to the media on his return from India’s regional rival China, said the Maldives is not in any country’s backyard and that the Indian Ocean does not belong to a single country — a reference to a recent tiff between the Maldives and India. So this territorial integrity is something China respects firmly,” said Muizzu, signaling the Maldives government’s effort to break from India’s influence. Muizzu was elected president last November on an “India Out” platform promising to remove some Indian military personnel stationed in the Maldives.