The government of Maldives has said that the free trade agreements it has with neighboring India and Sri Lanka was 'not functioning well,' while defending its decision to sign one with China.

Attorney General Mohamed Anil, Fisheries Minister Dr. Mohamed Shainee and Maldives' Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mohamed Hussain Shareef spoke to reporters at the Maldives Embassy in Colombo on Monday, where they dismissed the concerns by the opposition over the matter, rather maintaing that the agreement 'will boost the economy' of the country.

Ambassador Shareef noted that any concern regarding the FTA agreement 'should be related to a threat from the FTA to the Maldives and its neighbours,' and assured that 'the deal with China is not at the expense of compromising the security in the Indian Ocean'.

Furthermore, Shareef said that the agreement with China will be 'hugely beneficial' to the Maldives 'especially since it will result in the export of more fish from the Maldives'.

He further noted that the government has been holding discussion regarding the FTA with China since 2014, emphasizing that it 'was not reached in a haste'.

While the Ambassador claims that the deal was not reached in a haste, it is important to note that an emergency parliament sitting was held at night to hold the vote on the issue, after it was passed by the parliament's oversight committee on national security affairs within 15 minutes after convening. Some opposition parliamentarians claim to have not been informed of the sitting.

Also speaking at the conference, Minister Shainee highlighted that this will not be the first free trade agreement that the Maldives has signed. He noted that it already has free trade agreements with Sri Lanka and India, and that it is looking to sign similar agreements with Europe and other nations.

However, Shainee added that the FTA's with neighbouring India and Sri Lanka 'was not functioning well'.

The opposition, including former President Mohamed Nasheed has expressed concern over the trade agreement with China, noting that such an agreement will be 'detrimental' to the economy 'as balance of trade is greatly in favour of China'.