India, Feb. 19 -- Even though Maldives has not gone bankrupt as media reports would have us believe, Male is heavily leveraged with external debt mounting to nearly USD 4.038 billion and the internal debt nearly matching the figure with debt crisis looming ahead in 2026. The gross national income of Mohammed Muizzu ruled Maldives is USD 5.6 billion as per official figures.

While Muizzu with his overt anti-India stance is asking for debt relief from his close friend Xi Jinping and Islamic emirates in the Middle-East, the Chinese debt of USD 1.3 billion constitutes nearly 30 per cent of its external debt with sovereign bonds maturing in 2026. Even though Muizzu sought financial support from the likes of Turkey and China, none is seen forth...