Mohamed Muizzu unveils ‘India-Out’ vision to near-empty Maldivian Parliament

Two top Opposition parties boycotted Muizzu’s speech. They are against the Maldivian President’s stark “anti-India” pivot and hold a majority in the House.

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu | Reuters

New Delhi: A demand to remove foreign troops from Maldives, the recovery of lost territory and the elimination of “harmful agreements” was why his government had been voted to power, President Mohamed Muizzu told the Maldivian Parliament Monday.

His first address to the People’s Majlis (Parliament of Maldives) was, however, sparsely attended – only 24 lawmakers of the 87-member House – as the top two Opposition parties boycotted Muizzu’s speech. They are against Muizzu’s stark “anti-India” pivot and hold a majority in the House.

 Muizzu, who won the presidential elections last September, made it clear that he viewed his mandate as one to ensure the “removal” of foreign soldiers, i.e. the 77 unarmed Indian military personnel that have been posted in Maldives under agreements signed between the two countries.

“The support of a large majority of the Maldivian people for our government is a support and agreement for the removal of foreign soldiers from this land, to recover the territory lost from Maldivian waters and cancel any deals that may harm the sovereignty of the Maldives,” Muizzu said, as reported by Maldivian news website Adhadhu.

In Parliament, Muizzu announced the phased removal of the Indian military personnel, with the first group leaving on 10 March and the second group departing the island by 10 May 2024. Muizzu referred to the agreement announced by the Maldivian foreign ministry Friday.

India and Maldives agreed to a phased replacement of troops during the second meeting of the high-level core group held in New Delhi, as per the Maldivian foreign ministry. The statement released by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Friday made no mention of the agreement.

The 77 unarmed personnel stationed in the Maldives operate and maintain two Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters and a Dornier aircraft gifted to the Maldives National Defence Forces (MNDF), besides training the Maldivian military.

The helicopters were used for medical evacuations from various islands in the archipelago, which has saved nearly 500 lives since January 2019 till late 2023, as reported by ThePrint earlier.

Muizzu also made it clear that he had no intention of renewing the current hydrographic agreement with India. The agreement allowed India to comprehensively study the territorial waters of the island nation and was signed on 8 June 2019 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Maldives. It was due for renewal in June 2024.

“It has also been officially informed that the Maldivian state will not renew the agreement which gives India substantial powers to draw charts of Maldives boundaries and the seabed,” said Muizzu, according to Adhadhu.

Building up patrolling capacity 

In a further sign of minimising India’s role in the Maldives, Muizzu vowed to ensure the capabilities of the Maldivian armed forces to patrol its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for twenty-four hours a day. This is a task that India has historically done in partnership with the government of Maldives.

Earlier in January, Maldives signed a $37 million deal with Turkey to buy military drones to patrol the high seas, as reported by ThePrint. Turkey has emerged as one of the biggest exporters of drones, both armed and unarmed in recent years.

Ties between India and Maldives have been strained after three deputy ministers – now suspended – made disparaging remarks against Modi in January.

Social media users promoted tourism to Lakshadweep after Modi visited the union territory and urged Indians to spend time on the island. This prompted derogatory responses from the three deputy ministers.

The furore over the remarks led to Indians calling for a boycott of tourism to Maldives. Since the call, Indians have fallen from being the number one source for tourists to the island archipelago in 2023, to the fifth position this year as per data published by the Maldivian Ministry of Tourism.

Near-empty Parliament

Only 24 members of the People’s Majlis attended Muizzu’s first address. The two largest opposition parties, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the Democrats, both boycotted Muizzu’s address. MDP MP and Speaker of the House Mohamed Aslam, however, attended the session.

The MDP and the Democrats combined have 56 MPs in the Parliament. According to a statement by the MDP Sunday, Muizzu’s government has attempted to “encroach” on the privileges of the Parliament and undermined the institution – leading to the boycott of his address.

(Edited by Tikli Basu)