New Delhi: The abhorrence of the Maldives government on the presence of a handful of Indian military personnel in the island nation has exacerbated the already cold equations between the two nations. However, the fate of the Indian soldiers still hangs in balance after a core group meeting between the two sides held in Male amidst an ongoing diplomatic row.
On Sunday, Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, the public policy secretary at the Maldives President’s Office, said in a media briefing held while the meeting was underway that President Mohamed Muizzu had formally asked India to withdraw its military personnel by March 15.
Following the Sunday meeting, the External Affairs Ministry said that both sides discussed ways to identify steps for enhancing the bilateral partnership and to find a mutually workable solution for the continued operation of Indian aviation platforms in the Maldives.
“During the meeting, both the countries held discussions on wide ranging issues related to bilateral cooperation towards identifying steps to enhance the partnership, including expediting the implementation of ongoing development cooperation projects,” an External Affairs Ministry statement read.
“Both sides also held discussions on finding mutually workable solution to enable continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and medvac services to the people of Maldives," it read.
However, according to the Maldives foreign ministry, both sides agreed to fast-track the withdrawal of the Indian military personnel from the Indian Ocean archipelago nation.
“During the meeting held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Maldives, both sides reviewed the existing bilateral cooperation,” a statement issued by the Maldives foreign ministry read. “Discussions were held on a wide range of issues of mutual interest, including development cooperation. Both sides expressed willingness to intensify cooperation and agreed to fast-track the withdrawal of Indian military personnel," the Maldives Foreign Ministry informed.
The withdrawal of the Indian military formed the core of Muizzu’s campaign for the Presidential election in the Maldives held last year. In his ‘India Out’ campaign, Muizzu demanded the withdrawal of what he called the "over 1,000 Indian military personnel present" in the Maldives. However, according to the latest Maldives government figures, there are only 88 Indian military personnel present in that country.
These military personnel are involved in servicing and operating Indian military equipment and aircraft deployed in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation primarily for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief work.
As of now, there are two Indian Dhruv advanced light helicopters operating in Male. New Delhi has also given a Dornier aircraft to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) on condition that while it will operate under the command and control of the MNDF, its running cost will be borne by India.
Muizzu had adopted a pronounced anti-India and pro-China stance after assuming office in November last year. Unlike the practice followed by his three immediate predecessors, Muizzu decided not to make his first state visit to India after assuming office.
Muizzu chose Turkey as his first destination. On his way back from Turkey, he held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the COP28 Summit in Dubai last month during which he sought the withdrawal of the Indian military personnel from the Maldives. Following this, it was announced that a core group would be formed to resolve the issue.
After this, in December last year Maldives decided not to renew a hydrography agreement with India citing national security concerns and the safeguarding of sensitive information. The hydrographic survey agreement was signed on June 8, 2019, during Modi’s visit to the Maldives. Under the agreement, India was allowed to conduct a comprehensive study of the island nation’s territorial waters, which includes reefs, lagoons, coastlines, ocean currents, and tide levels.
And then again, Maldives decided to allow a Chinese vessel to enter its 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.
Sunday’s core group meeting was held amidst a diplomatic row that broke out between India and the Maldives after Modi visited the union territory of Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea and promoted it on social media as an exciting tourism. Though Modi did not mention any other country in his comments, some Maldivian politicians took it as Lakshadweep being showcased as a rival to the tourism industry in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation. They made disparaging remarks against the Prime Minister and racist comments against Indians in general.
This sparked a social media backlash from Indians, including entertainment world celebrities and sports stars. Many opposition leaders and tourism industry bodies in the Maldives also heavily criticised the Muizzu government for this. Following this, three junior ministers in the Maldives government were suspended.
After this, Muizzu embarked on a state visit to China, which was yet another manifestation of Male giving priority to Beijing over New Delhi. During the visit, a number of agreements were signed between the two sides, including on increasing Chinese investments in the Maldives. Muizzu also made an appeal to increase the number of Chinese tourists to the Maldives. As of now, Indians comprise the highest number of tourists going to the Maldives.
Upon his return from China, Muizzu continued with his anti-India rhetoric. Addressing the media, Muizzu, without naming India, said that “the Maldives may be small, but it does not give countries the licence to bully us”.
He further stated that although the islands of Maldives are small in size, it is spread over 900,000 sq km, saying it has the largest portion of the Indian Ocean from those located in it.
“This ocean is not the property of a specific country. This ocean belongs to all those who come from it, all the surrounding countries. And the part of the ocean that does not belong to any country even if it is bigger,” he said.
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.
So, will the handful of Indian military personnel present in the Maldives be withdrawn? Following Sunday’s meeting, it was decided that a second core group meeting will be held in India on a mutually convenient date.
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