Why Indian Coast Guard Personnel Boarded Maldives Fishing Vessels Now Comes to Light

The reason why Indian Coast Guard personnel boarded Maldivian fishing vessels in January this year has now come to light. This was confirmed by Maldives Defence Minister Ghassan Maumoon, who received a justification from the Government of India. This comes amid the Maldives leadership adopting a reconciliatory tone in recent times vis-à-vis India.

New Delhi: “Misinformation” is the reason why Indian Coast Guard personnel boarded Maldivian fishing vessels off the coast of the Maldives in January this year, it has come to light now. Maldives Defence Minister Ghassan Maumoon has confirmed in the country’s Parliament the People Majlis that he has received an official justification from the Government of India about the events that led to the Indian Coast Guard personnel boarding three Maldivian fishing vessels within that country’s exclusive economic zone. He said that the reason cited by India was “miscommunication” due to the use of satellite phones by the fishermen.

Towards the end of January this year, a group representing Maldivian fishermen said that a fishing boat in the Indian archipelago nation had been stormed by personnel of an Indian ship. “The UN Mahibadu Asruma boat is currently being attacked by an Indian ship. I strongly condemn this! Watch this,” the translated version of the post on X in Dwivehi by the Bodu Kanneli Masveringe Union read.

Following this, the Maldives National Defence Forces (MNDF) posted on X that it is “investigating a report that a boarding team of a foreign military vessel boarded a Dhvehi fishing boat while in the SEZ”. “An MN Coast Guard vessel is now travelling to the area”, it stated. Local media in the Maldives quoted the MNDF as saying that “the fishing boat was inside the Maldives Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) when a boarding team from a foreign military ship stormed the boat”.

After this, further reports emerged that two more Maldivian fishing vessels were also boarded by the Indian Coast Guard personnel within the Maldives’ EEZ. An EEZ, as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind. The EEZ does not define the ownership of any maritime features (islands, rocks and low-tide elevations) within it.

Now the question is whether the Maldivian fishing boat was actually within the country’s EEZ. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) last year ruled that the Maldives will lose 45,331 sq km of its EEZ in a maritime boundary delimitation case involving Mauritius. The judgment evenly divides the disputed maritime zone, awarding Mauritius 45,331 sq km and the Maldives 47,232 sq km. Earlier, the entire area of 92,653 sq km was considered part of the Maldivian EEZ, as per local legislation defining the EEZ as 200 nautical miles from the coast.

Explaining India’s position in the People’s Majlis, Defence Minister Maumoon said that the legality of the use of satellite phones had come into the picture.

“They (Indian Coast Guard personnel) boarded the vessels because satellite phones were being used, and that is against the law according to them,” the Edition.mv news website quoted Maumoon as saying. “However, that applied to the use of satellite phones in India’s ocean territory is banned there through an amendment brought to one of their regulations. But in the case of Maldives, those phones are permitted for use. In fact, as per our laws, if vessels are travelling a specific distance far from islands, then the use of satellite phones is obligatory. Hence, the Maldivian fishermen were acting in accordance with the laws.”

The incidents of Indian Coast Guard personnel boarding Maldivian fishing vessels came amidst new Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu adopting a strident anti-India and pro-China foreign policy.

Muizzu had won last year’s Presidential election on a pronounced anti-India plank. He ran an ‘India Out’ campaign in which he called for the withdrawal of some Indian military personnel present in his country. These personnel, numbering less than 100, are primarily involved in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief work in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation. However, after assuming office, Muizzu made a formal request to India to withdraw these personnel. These personnel are now being replaced by civilians in batches.

However, in recent times, Muizzu has adopted a more reconciliatory tone vis-à-vis India. Earlier this month, he described India as the Maldives’ closest ally. He also requested New Delhi to provide relief in the repayment of Indian debts. This tone was again reflected in Maumoon’s response when he was asked by an opposition Member of Parliament whether he had accepted India’s justification regarding the fishing vessels incident.

“I strongly believe it was caused by miscommunication. Because that is the official response from a friendly nation,” Maumoon said. He further stated that it was the same response the Maldives’ Chief of Defence Force received when he met with senior, policy-level officials on a trip to New Delhi.

“We accept that reason,” the Defence Minister said. It remains to be seen what trajectory India-Maldives relations take in the coming future given the recent developments.