Maldives key element for India’s Indo-Pacific Ocean initiative to thwart China’s hegemony

Calling the Maldives an important factor in the Indian Ocean region, India’s former ambassador Jitendra Tripathi who had served in various capacities in Indian missions in Zambia, the Maldives, Hungary etc, said, “India have a very high stake in the Maldives because the island nation is very crucial in the Arabian Sea”.

New Delhi: Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdullah Sahid who is on a two day trip to India met External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Friday. Both the leaders discussed issues of mutual interests related to regional, bilateral and international issues. Avenues of Indian assistance during a covid pandemic to the island nation were also discussed. The Maldives is the first country to have received vaccines from India under its Vaccine Maitri initiative.

“The Maldives is a continuation of Lakshwadeep islands; therefore, it becomes very important in the Indo-Pacific region, especially, when the last government was lured by China, Maldives scrapped many defence and trade agreements with India, but the present government is pro –India and has got very good relation with India as against contrary to Maldives’ previous government. China is at the receiving end as regards the Maldives”, he told ETV Bharat in an interview.

“India should not have a laid-back attitude about the Maldives, which is why India has been pumping money, and India have many projects, provided a line of credit worth total Rs 800 million to the Maldives. India has provided 50 million dollars assistance to the Maldives Treasury bill. India is training their civil servants and 70% of the training needs of the Maldivian National Defense Force are met by India. So with this, India has been able to keep the Maldives engaged constructively with India and thwart any advances by China”, Tripathi pointed out.

He underlined that the Maldives is part of India’s initiative for Indo-Pacific and with the new Maldivian government taking over in 2019; the Maldives has become a key element for the Indian-Ocean initiative. "All the big trade routes which go through from East Asia to Africa or Europe, pass through between the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Therefore, it becomes very important to ensure that the trade route is not taken over by China”, Tripathi added.

The visit of the Maldivian minister is significant as it facilitates India’s vision towards a free and prosperous Indo-Pacific. The small island nation is India’s key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region and occupies a central and special place in the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR’ - Security and Growth for All in the Region. Foreign Minister Shahid’s visit is expected to lend further momentum to the close bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Earlier today, Minister Abdullah also addressed the Raisina dialogue. In a tweet, EAM Jaishankar said “ Welcomed FM @abdulla_shahid of Maldives. Appreciate his participation at Raisina dialogue. Noted the steady progress in our partnership. Will work closely in the international arena as well”.

Jaishankar also reassured India’s commitment to Maldives candidature as the President of the United Nation General Assembly. Both the ministers also reviewed the status of the India-aided projects in the Maldives.

When asked what message India is sending to the international community by supporting Maldives candidature at global fora like the 76th session of the United Nation General Assembly, ambassador Tripathi said, “By supporting Maldives candidature in UNGA, India is sending out a message to the world that a tiny country like the Maldives, with not more than 5 lakh of the total population, can catapult to become President of UN body. By promoting the Maldives, a message will go to the world that India is always for the smaller nations”, he added.

The Maldives had remained important to India right from the beginning. In 1976, India signed a maritime boundary agreement with the Maldives and in 1988; India was a prime factor in intervening and eradicating the terrorist attack on the Maldives, he said. India and Maldives are neighbours sharing a maritime border and both the nation shares a close and friendly relation in strategic, economic and military cooperation.