New Delhi: The national security services committee of the People’s Majlis (parliament) of Maldives Monday opened a parliamentary inquiry into at least three agreements signed between Malé and New Delhi under the previous Ibrahim Solih administration.
The news of the inquiry comes as President of Maldives Mohamed Muizzu is on a two-day visit to India on 9-10 June for the swearing-in of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ties between the two countries have remained frosty since Muizzu assumed power in November 2023.
“Today, the National Security Services Committee of the parliament has decided to conduct a parliamentary inquiry to investigate actions undertaken by President @ibusolih’s administration that undermined the sovereignty and independence of the Maldives,” said Ahmed Azaan, a Maldivian MP, on social media.
Azaan, MP for Hithadhoo Central, moved the motion for the inquiry by the Majlis’ committee into agreements signed by the Solih administration between 2018 and 2023 with New Delhi, including a hydrography agreement, the pact to construct and maintain a Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Coast Guard Harbour at Sifvaru and the agreement to operate Dornier aircraft, according to local media reports.
The national security services committee is set up under Article 241 of the constitution of Maldives, “to exercise continuing oversight of the operations of the security services”.
The committee approved Azaan’s motion and appointed a four-member panel to look into the agreements. Its four members are: Ahmed Azaan and fellow parliamentarians Ahmed Nazim, Abdul Gafoor Musa and Abdul Hannan Aboobakaru, local media reported.
News of the inquiry came on the day Muizzu held a bilateral meeting with Union minister S. Jaishankar.
“Delighted to call on President Dr Mohamed Muizzu of Maldives today in New Delhi. Look forward to India and Maldives working together closely,” Jaishankar said on X after the meeting.
Muizzu was one of the leaders from India’s neighbouring countries who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Modi Sunday.
The Maldivian President met with Modi after the ceremony and attended a banquet hosted by his Indian counterpart Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. This is the first official visit by Muizzu to India since he took office.
Also Read: Muizzu wants them out, but here’s how many Indian troops are stationed in Maldives & why
What agreements are under scanner?
The hydrographic survey agreement was signed between Maldives and India on 8 June, 2019, during Modi’s visit to the country. In December 2023, Maldives announced the agreement will not be renewed after its expiry in June 2024.
The agreement allowed New Delhi to conduct a comprehensive survey of the archipelago’s territorial waters, including the seabed — reefs, lagoons, coastlines, ocean currents, and tide levels.
Even as Maldives announced its intention to not renew the hydrography pact, it gave permission to Chinese research vessels such as the Xiang Yang Hong 03 to dock at its ports earlier this year, despite India’s objections.
The MNDF Coast Guard dockyard development pact was signed during Jaishankar’s visit to the country in February 2021.
“During this visit, an agreement to develop, support and maintain a Maldives National Defence Force Coast Guard Harbour at Sifvaru (Uthuru Thilafalhu) was also signed. This agreement was signed pursuant to the request Government of Maldives made in April 2013,” a joint statement from the two countries stated then.
The foundation stone for the harbour was laid in May 2023, and it is one of India’s largest grant-in-aid projects in the island country, according to media reports. The project has come under public scrutiny in the Maldives as it was perceived by the then opposition as a way for India to have a military presence in the country — one of the pillars of the ‘India Out’ protests that rocked the island nation 2020 onwards.
The operation of the Dornier aircraft and other aviation platforms in Maldives came under scrutiny immediately after Muizzu came to power. At the time, the platforms were operated by around 77 unarmed Indian military personnel for humanitarian purposes and medical evacuation purposes.
India and Maldives agreed to a “phased” withdrawal of these personnel in February, and a replacement by a civilian technical team by 10 May. A day before the deadline, the last of India’s military personnel returned to India.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)