Maldives Tells India to Remove Its Troops by Mid-March

Nasreen Seria
·2 min read
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The president of the Maldives told India it must withdraw its troops from the island by March, making good on an election promise as he draws closer to China.

Fresh off a five-day visit to Beijing where he met with President Xi Jinping, Maldivian leader Mohamed Muizzu told reporters on the weekend that he made a formal request to New Delhi to remove its military personnel by March 15, the SunOnline newspaper reported.

A high level meeting took place on Sunday in the island’s capital Male to fast-track the process of troop withdrawal, Maldives’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

India operates and maintains radars, helicopters and aircraft in the Maldives, some of which are used for medical evacuations. The Indian Navy also patrols surrounding waters. The SunOnline newspaper said there are currently 88 Indian military personnel based on the island.

In a statement on Sunday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs didn’t directly mention the request to remove the troops, but said both sides held discussions on “finding mutually workable solution to enable continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and medvac services to the people of Maldives.”

Tensions between India and the Maldives have been rising since Muizzu swept into power in September on a campaign to reduce India’s influence in the island. Although small and mostly tourism-dependent, the Maldives sits on a busy Indian Ocean shipping lane. Both India and China have alternatively vied for influence in the country, investing heavily in upgrading Maldives’ infrastructure and extending loans to the country.

Beijing last week upgraded its diplomatic ties with the Maldives to a “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership” during Muizzu’s visit. Xi said China will seek to boost direct flights to the island nation, and wants to increase cooperation in areas of trade, investment, agriculture and others.

Muizzu’s latest move comes a week after a social media storm in which three of the island’s ministers were suspended for alleged derogatory comments made against Indians and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Indian officials, celebrities and tour companies responded by canceling holidays to the island and vowing to boost tourism to domestic islands instead.

--With assistance from Swati Gupta and Sudhi Ranjan Sen.

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