China will ‘take action’ if India sends troops to Maldives: Global Times

China will ‘take action’ if India sends troops to Maldives: Global Times

Context:

• China’s state-run tabloid Global Times   warned that Beijing will retaliate if New Delhi unilaterally decides to send troops to the crisis-hit Maldives.
• It warned that, “India should not underestimate China’s opposition to unilateral military intervention.”
• This follows signals from the China’s side that it does not want to exacerbate tensions with India over the Maldives issue.

Recent developments:

• The two visits by the Foreign Minister Wang and politburo member Yang Jiechi in December to India had built on the “fresh start” talks in September between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the BRICS summit in Xiamen.
• The meeting took place soon after the Doklam standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in the Sikkim sector was defused.
•  Chinese side has re-opened the gates of the Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage for Indian travelers through Nathu La in Sikkim .
• The route was closed last year in the wake of the Doklam face-off.

Crisis in Maldives:

• The latest crisis in Maldives unfolded earlier this month, when the Yameen administration imposed an emergency in defiance of the Supreme Court ruling that quashed the conviction of opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed, and ordered the release of 12 jailed parliamentarians.