New Delhi: Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, in his first speech as the island nation’s leader, vowed to remove all foreign military personnel from his country, hours after he told Union minister Kiren Rijiju Saturday that New Delhi must withdraw its military presence.
“The country will not have any foreign military personnel in the Maldives. When it comes to our security, I will draw a red line. The Maldives will respect the red lines of other countries too,” said Muizzu after being sworn in by the country’s Chief Justice.
Rijiju travelled to Malé as India’s representative at the new Maldivian President’s swearing-in ceremony from 16 to 18 November.
In contrast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had personally attended the swearing-in ceremony of Muizzu’s predecessor, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, in 2018. It was an Indian leader’s first visit to the strategically located archipelago after former PM Manmohan Singh’s visit in 2011.
Muizzu, at times dubbed an “India out” politician, defeated Solih in an election this September, winning more than 50 percent of the votes.
As relations between New Delhi and Male teeter on the edge, President Muizzu formally met Rijiju at the President’s Office in Male Saturday.
“Privileged to call on President H.E. Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. Conveyed greetings from Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi and reiterated India’s commitment to further strengthen the substantive bilateral cooperation and robust people-to-people ties,” Rijiju said in a statement after the meeting.
A statement from the Maldives government later in the day read: “The Government of Maldives has formally requested the Government of India to withdraw its military personnel from the Maldives.”
“President Dr Mohamed Muizzu formally made the request when he met the Minister of Earth Sciences of India, H.E. Mr Kiren Rijiju, at the President’s Office earlier today,” it added.
During his visit to Maldives, Rijiju also reviewed progress on the Greater Male Connectivity project being built in the country under India’s $500 million concessional Line of Credit and Grant. In August 2021, India and Maldives signed onto the project, which aims to build bridges and viaducts linking Malé to surrounding islands.
Earlier this week, in an interview with AFP, Muizzu said he does not plan to replace Indian troops with Chinese forces.
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India-Maldives ties
Ahead of this year’s election, Muizzu had run a campaign centred around reducing India’s influence in the Maldives.
In 2019, his party, the Progressive Party of Maldives, which served as the Opposition, criticised government policies under Solih, including India’s $1.4 billion financial assistance to the island nation last October.
The first “India Out” protests led by the Opposition, accusing New Delhi of violating the Maldives’ sovereignty, began in October 2020.
In June 2022, a crowd of protesters stormed a stadium where an event marking the International Day of Yoga, organised by the Indian High Commission in Malé, was taking place.
As reported by ThePrint earlier, India has maintained a military presence in the Maldives over the past few decades, consisting of 75 troops as well as two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft, according to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF). These Indian troops are unarmed and comprise military engineers, trainers and pilots responsible for operating the aircraft and helicopters.
For the last few decades, the two countries have collaborated closely in the areas of defence and security. Besides having troops in the island nation, India has also participated in building a port and a naval facility in Uthuru Thilafalhu.
The facility would serve as a hub for maintenance and repair, and enable the MNDF to enhance its maritime security skills and fix ships and other vessels, which used to be sent to India and other countries.
In May, India also gave a landing craft and a fast patrol vessel to the MNDF. However, these vessels and facilities are under the control of the Maldivian Coast Guard, not the Indian troops.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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