'India's concerns have not been heeded': Kanwal Sibal on Maldives-China FTA

Kanwal Sibal

Former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal on Saturaday said India's concerns have not been heeded, forcing Delhi to publicly
communicate its unhappiness with the Maldives-China FTA. His statement comes amid the Maldives’ free trade agreement (FTA) with China coming into force and a potential trade deal with Türkiye.

India on Friday said it would “take that into account” while framing foreign aid policies. Sibal added that India's expression suggests that the country's concerns shared privately have not been heeded. We are telling Maldives that this will have policy consequences on our side.

"Why should China, the biggest exporter, want an FTA with tiny Maldives except to make sure Maldives doesn’t move into the Indian orbit to the point of affecting China’s expansionist maritime strategy in the Indian Ocean which is a strategic challenge to us," said Sibal.

“We remain in close touch with Maldivian authorities on the situation facing them. Recent agreements that are likely to result in revenue loss for the Maldives Government are, obviously, a matter of concern and do not bode well for the long term fiscal stability of the country. We would, obviously, need to take that into account while framing our own policies,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, without naming China or Türkiye.