“We do not want any foreign military forces to be present in the Maldives. I made a promise to the people of the Maldives, and I will keep that promise right from the start. ”
Dr Mohamed Muizzu, who recently won the election to become the president of Maldives, is quickly requesting India to remove its soldiers from the country.
The person who will become president soon had a talk with the Indian ambassador after winning the election. He told the ambassador that he wants all Indian soldiers to leave.
The Maldives has been strongly influenced by India for a long time. Mr Muizzu’s demand is likely to cause problems in the relationship between Malé and Delhi.
When Mr Muizzu became the president of Maldives, it was seen as a disadvantage for India. This is because his opponent, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, had improved the relationship between their country and Delhi since he became the president in 2018.
The group supporting Mr Muizzu depicted this bond, which is strengthened by Mr Solih’s focus on India, as a danger to the independence and safety of the Maldives.
Mr Muizzu’s alliance wants a stronger relationship with China. China has given a lot of money to the Maldives for building things and helping the country grow.
India wants to have a presence in the islands that are strategically situated because it allows them to keep an eye on an important area of the Indian Ocean. As part of this, India has given around $2 billion in aid to help develop the country.
If the soldiers have to go away, it will be bad for Delhi.
But a lot of anger about the “presents” that Delhi gave to the Maldives – two helicopters they received in 2010 and 2013 and a small airplane in 2020 – has made the “India out” movement much stronger.
Delhi mentioned that the vehicles would be used for finding and saving people in emergencies and for moving sick or injured people to hospitals.
In 2021, the Maldivian defense force stated that around 75 Indian military members were in the country to operate and take care of the Indian planes. This made people become suspicious and angry because they thought that the reconnaissance planes were being used as an excuse to send Indian soldiers to the area.
Mr Muizzu also says that having these troops in the Maldives might make the country vulnerable, particularly as tensions between India and China get worse along their border in the Himalayan region.
“Maldives is too tiny to become involved in this worldwide struggle for power. ” “He said we won’t get involved in this. ”
In an interview with the BBC before the presidential election, the current president Mr Solih stated that concerns regarding the Indian troops were blown out of proportion.
There are no soldiers from other countries currently based in the Maldives. “He said that the Indian people in the country are following the orders of the Maldives National Defence Force. ”
However, it is not only the airplane. Muizzu expressed his desire to examine all the agreements that the Maldives has made with India in the past few years.
We are not aware of what is inside. Even in Parliament, some of the Members of Parliament (MPs) admitted that they did not know what is contained within the material being discussed during the debates. “I am confident that we will figure it out,” he stated.
Shortly after winning, people noticed that the Chinese ambassador in Malé was fast to congratulate Mr Muizzu.
The President of China, Xi Jinping, also spoke about this. He said he values the relationship between our countries and is willing to work with President-elect Muizzu to strengthen our friendship and work together on practical projects.
Mr Muizzu thinks Chinese infrastructure projects in the Maldives are really good. He says that these investments have changed Malé city and helped the people who live there.
However, he said he is not supporting China and instead supports India unlike Mr.
I strongly support the Maldives. He said Maldives is the most important to him, and our freedom is also very important. “I have no positive or negative stance towards any country. ”
However, his opposition team includes the party of a former president, Abdulla Yameen, who played an important role in bringing the Maldives closer to China.
When India and Western lenders refused to give loans to Yameen’s government because of claims of human rights abuses, Yameen, who is now in prison for corruption, asked Beijing for money and they gave it to him without any rules or requirements.
After that, he became a part of President Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative – a plan to create transportation connections (like roads, railways, and sea routes) between China and other countries.
Mr Muizzu was seen as a substitute for Yameen, who was not allowed to participate in the election.
Right after his election victory, Mr. Muizzu requested the current government to transfer Yameen from a highly secure prison to being confined at his house in the capital, Male.
However, since Yameen has a difficult and stressed relationship with Delhi, it might be challenging for Mr. Muizzu’s new partnership to maintain a good relationship with India.
Mr Muizzu seems eager to step out of Yameen’s influence and is ready to take a new direction in both domestic and foreign affairs of the country.
Because he won by a large margin, he might not encounter much opposition from within his group, at least at first.
He seems determined to distance the Maldives from India’s influence, but his first major challenge might be persuading Delhi to remove its troops.