Why US-Maldives talks on Indian Ocean security is significant for India

During what is being seen as an important visit to the Maldives, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu held a meeting with President Mohamed Muizzu. Security in the Indian Ocean was discussed during the meeting among other issues. ETV Bharat’s Aroonim Bhuyan writes why this is of significance for India.

New Delhi: In a development that will be closely monitored by India, the issue of security in the Indian Ocean came up for discussion during a meeting between Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu and US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu.

“The Assistant Secretary of State expressed the US interest in expanding areas of cooperation with the Maldives, including trade and economic development, tourism cooperation and Indian Ocean Security,” a statement issued by the Maldives President’s Office following the meeting in Male on Tuesday read. “The President expressed his gratitude and emphasised that under his foreign policy, the Maldives welcomes development initiatives that benefit the Maldives and diversify the economy.”

Why the mention of security in the Indian Ocean assumes significance during the meeting because Muizzu has adopted a strong anti-India and pro-China foreign policy after assuming office in November last year. India is part of the Quad that also comprises the US, Japan and Australia working for a free and open Indo-Pacific in the face of China’s hegemony in the region that stretches from the east coast of Japan to the east coast of Africa. It comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two.

“This is an important visit (by Lu to the Maldives) after Muizzu has come back from a state visit to China,” Anand Kumar, Associate Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses and author of the book ‘Multi-party Democracy in the Maldives and the Emerging Security Environment in the Indian Ocean Region’, told ETV Bharat.

Earlier this month, Muizzu went on a nearly week-long visit to China. This was a break from the practice followed by his three immediate democratically elected predecessors--Ibrahim Solih, Abdulla Yameen and Mohamed Nasheed--who had made India the destination of their first state visit after assuming office. In fact, after assuming office in November last year, Muizzu made Turkey the destination of his first state visit.

According to Kumar, Muizzu may have certain apprehensions about India that may not be true. “The Americans will also be concerned by Muizzu’s utterances after returning from China,” he said. “They would not like the Maldives to do something that alters the power balance in the Indian Ocean region and gives the upper hand to China.”

Lu has gone to the Maldives after visiting New Delhi during which he participated in the India-US Forum meeting and interacted with Indian government officials. Lu’s visit to the Indian Ocean archipelago nation comes amidst extremely strained ties between New Delhi and Male. Among the series of anti-India measures that Muizzu has taken is allowing a Chinese vessel to enter Maldivian territorial waters ostensibly to do research work. This decision came despite pressure from the Indian government and concerns raised by various quarters about the vessel being a “spy vessel”. India has strongly been protesting the repeated visits by Chinese vessels to the waters of the south Indian Ocean, a region New Delhi considers to be under its sphere of influence. Though the Maldivian Foreign Ministry has since clarified that the vessel, Xiang Yang Hong 3, will not conduct any research work, concerns remain.

As part of New Delhi’s Neighbourhood First Policy, the Maldives is strategically significant to India because of its location in the Indian Ocean. India and the Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and commercial links steeped in antiquity and enjoy close, cordial and multi-dimensional relations. However, regime instability in the Maldives since 2008 has posed significant challenges to the India-Maldives relationship, particularly in the political and strategic spheres.

Although India continues to be an important partner of the Maldives, New Delhi cannot afford to be complacent over its position and must remain attentive to the developments in the Maldives. India must play a key role within the Indo-Pacific security space to ensure regional security in South Asia and surrounding maritime boundaries. China’s strategic footprint in India’s neighbourhood has increased. The Maldives has emerged as an important ‘pearl’ in China’s ‘String of Pearls’ construct in South Asia.

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.

The meeting between Lu and Muizzu also comes on the heels of a visit by Adm John C Aquilino, Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, to the Maldives earlier this month. “During the trip, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu hosted Adm Aquilino at the Maldives Office of the President, where discussions centred on mutual initiatives for bolstering national and regional security and sovereignty,” a statement issued by the US Indo-Pacific Command read. “Adm Aquilino also engaged with Minister of Defence Ghassan Maumoon and Chief of Defence Lt Gen Abdul Raheem at the Maldives National Defence Forces (MNDF) Headquarters, emphasising joint efforts in countering trans-national threats and expanding domestic maritime security.”

According to the statement, the US Indo-Pacific Command “remains resolute in its dedication to fortify the US-Maldives relationship as we offer steadfast support in critical requirement areas”.

“Our commitment underscores the shared vision for a secure, rules-based, and open Indo-Pacific region,” it stated. Meanwhile, Lu and his delegation are also supposed to “advance the establishment of a permanent US Embassy space in Male” during the visit to the Maldives, according to a statement issued by the US State Department. The existing US Mission to the Maldives is based out of Colombo in Sri Lanka.

The Maldives and the US had established official diplomatic relations in 1965. The Maldives opened an embassy in Washington in 2007, but shut it down in 2008. It was reopened in June 2023, in a move to strengthen relations between the two countries. A month later, the US appointed Hugo Hue-Ho Yon, as the first US resident ambassador to the Maldives. Since then, the Maldives and the US have been engaged in talks to open a permanent US embassy in Male. The question is: Can the US influence Muizzu to change his pro-China policies? Only time can tell.