2024-01-16 07:45:38
- Anbarasan Ethirajan
- BBC reporter
January 16, 2024 7:41 am
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Diplomatic tensions between the Maldives and India have increased in recent weeks.
Bilateral relations between the Maldives and India, which have hit a low point in recent weeks, worsened following Male formally asked Delhi to withdraw its troops from the country by March 15.
On Sunday (January 14), the Maldives conveyed this request to India at the first meeting of the high-level core group of both parties held in Male, the capital of Maldives.
“Indian military personnel cannot stay in the Maldives. This is the policy of this government.” said Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, public policy secretary in the office of President Mohamed Muizzu .
Currently, there are regarding 80 Indian military personnel in the Maldives. Derry said they were stationed there to maintain and operate two rescue reconnaissance helicopters and a Dornier aircraft donated several years ago.
Muizu took office as the president of the Maldives in mid-November last year, and it was his campaign promise to withdraw Indian military personnel from the island nation. His campaign centered on a “Get India Out” policy, promising to send Indian troops home and reduce Delhi’s influence.
On Sunday, Delhi said officials from both countries discussed “finding mutually workable solutions to enable the continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian assistance and emergency medical evacuation services to the people of Maldives”.
However, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs’ statement did not mention a timetable for the withdrawal of Indian soldiers from the Maldives.
Muizou concluded his state visit to China a day before meeting with Indian officials in the Maldives. He met with President Xi Jinping and other senior officials in China. Beijing and Male agreed to upgrade their relationship to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.
Ahead of Muizu’s visit, a diplomatic row broke out between the two countries following three Maldivian deputy ministers made derogatory comments regarding Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media. The three deputy ministers were suspended following the incident caused an uproar.
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Muizu (right) recently met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
When Muizu attended a press conference following returning from Beijing, he expressed his defiance to India.
He said the Maldives will promote food imports and diversify overseas medical services in order to reduce the country’s dependence on India.
Muizul also announced plans to import food from Turkey and medicines from Europe and the United States, and said Maldivians eligible for the national health insurance scheme can travel to Dubai and Thailand for treatment. Currently, most people go to India and Sri Lanka for medical treatment.
“We are not a country in someone else’s backyard. We are an independent country,” he added.
Muizou concluded: “We may be small, but that doesn’t mean you can bully us.”
This is seen as a response to the massive backlash on social media triggered by the controversial remarks of the three deputy ministers involving Modi. Calls for a boycott of the Maldives have been a trending topic on Indian social media over the last week.
Analysts said this may be the strongest statement Muizu has made since taking office, indicating that his foreign policy line is not India-centric.
“If Male is seeking to resolve existing differences with Delhi through diplomatic channels, it would also be counterproductive for the president to make such public comments and implicate the Maldives’ closest bilateral partners.” Azim Chahi, a political analyst in the Maldives Azim Zahir told the BBC.
Such comments “might cause irreversible damage to India’s relations with the Maldives,” he said.
Many Maldivians believe Muizu’s plans to reduce dependence on Indian food imports or medicines are unrealistic.
“You can import food from anywhere in the world, including Turkey. But is it economical? The transportation costs will be more expensive than importing food from India,” senior Democratic leader Ali Azim told the BBC.
He added that Muizu was trying to incite “anti-India sentiment” ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections in March.
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People in Male are worried regarding the consequences of the dispute with Delhi.
Experts in the Maldives pointed out that Muizou took a tough stance once morest Delhi because he knew that the country’s Islamic hardliners (including ultra-conservative Salafis) supported his policy towards India.
For Delhi, the latest spat comes as supporters of the Indian government have been emphasizing its “robust foreign policy” and India’s emergence as an economic and military power.
However, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar gave a restrained response to the ongoing diplomatic dispute between India and Malaysia.
“Politics is politics. I can’t guarantee that in every country, every day, everyone will support us or agree with us,” he told a rally in the Indian city of Nagpur on Sunday.
As a small island nation, the Maldives relies on its giant neighbor India for much of its food, infrastructure and health care.
Some residents of Male said that while they were concerned regarding Delhi’s response to the ongoing diplomatic spat, they were also unhappy with India’s “overbearing presence” in the country.
“I think the risk of a serious row between Delhi and Male will increase if India does not make some concessions,” political analyst Zahir said.
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