MALE: The Maldives’ president appealed for calm throughout the island nation Sunday, after his deputy was arrested on suspicion of treason for allegedly plotting to assassinate him with an explosion on his boat.

President Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who escaped the Sept. 28 blast unhurt, told reporters branded his deputy a threat to national security after his arrest over an alleged attempt to assassinate Yameen in a speedboat bombing last month.

It “was not easy” to see the arrest of Vice President Ahmed Adeeb, a young protege appointed to the office only three months ago.

The decision to arrest Adeeb was made “for the security of the country,” Gayoom said, but added that he would wait for the case to go to trial before beginning any process to impeach him.

Soldiers and police patrolled the streets of the capital Male in stepped-up security, one day after vice president Ahmed Adeeb’s arrest as he arrived back in the honeymoon islands from an official trip abroad.

The arrest followed a series of sackings of government officials, which have fuelled political unrest and further damaged the Maldives’ image as an upmarket tourist destination.