Maldives’ President Mohamed Muizzu addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., on September 24, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has denied having an “India Out” agenda, asserting that the island nation had a “serious problem” with the presence of foreign military on its soil.

Mr. Muizzu, who is in the US to attend the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, commented on Thursday (September 26, 2024) while responding to a question at Princeton University’s “Dean’s Leadership Series”.

“We have never been against any one country at any point. It’s not India Out. Maldives faced a serious problem with foreign military presence on this soil,” Maldivian news portal adhadhu.com quoted him as saying.

“The people of Maldives do not want a single foreign soldier in the country,” Mr. Muizzu said.

The ties between India and the Maldives came under severe strain since November last year when Mr. Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took charge as Maldivian President.

Mr. Muizzu had asked India to withdraw nearly 90 Indian military personnel operating three aviation platforms gifted by the country. India withdrew its military personnel by May 10 and replaced them with civilian personnel to operate a Dornier aircraft and two helicopters.

Mr. Muizzu added he had taken action against deputy ministers for insulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media.

Also Read: Maldives President Muizzu thanks India, China for support to strengthen his country’s fragile economy

“No one should say such a thing. I took action against it. I will not accept insulting anyone like that, whether he is a leader or an ordinary person. Every human being has a reputation,” the report quoted him as saying.

Earlier this year, Deputy Ministers in Maldives’ youth ministry were suspended for derogatory social media posts against Prime Minister Modi following a backlash, with New Delhi strongly raising the matter with Male. The Deputy Ministers criticised PM Modi for his post on ‘X’ following his visit to Lakshadweep in January, inferring that it was an attempt to project the Union Territory as an alternative tourist destination to the Maldives.

“The people have decided and don’t want Indian troops to stay in the Maldives. Therefore, foreign soldiers cannot be here against our sentiments, against our will,’’ the President-elect said.
| Photo Credit: AFP

India looks forward to engaging the new Maldives government on “all issues”, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday, responding to the Maldivian President-elect Mohamed Muizzu’s statement that Indian military personnel would be asked to leave the islands.

On Wednesday evening, Indian High Commissioner to Male Munnu Mahawar met Mr. Muizzu, and handed over a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulating him on his electoral victory.

“Our High Commissioner in Male called on the President-elect, and he had a good discussion on various aspects of our bilateral relationship including development cooperation,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. 

‘India Out’ campaign

Last Saturday’s run-off election saw Mr. Muizzu, the former Mayor of Male, defeat incumbent Maldives President Ibu Solih by 19,000 votes, or an 8% margin. The results have been widely seen as an upset for India, that had close ties with the Solih administration. Speaking at a public rally after the elections, Mr. Muizzu, who stood as the candidate for the PNC-PPM coalition that had campaigned on an “India Out” plank, had said that the “sovereignty” of the Maldives was most important.

“The people have decided and don’t want Indian troops to stay in the Maldives. Therefore, foreign soldiers cannot be here against our sentiments, against our will,’’ the President-elect was quoted as saying by Maldivian news outlets on Tuesday.

“So, I have to tell the [Indian] ambassador who is going to meet me that we will have a very good relationship with these values,” he had added. 

Coast Guard project opposed

While India has had a strong military presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) for many years, naval and airforce personnel have been stationed in the Addu and Lammu islands since 2013 in order to maintain and operate two helicopters and Dornier aircraft that India had loaned the Maldives for reconnaissance operations over the past decade. In November 2021, the Maldives National Defence Force told a Parliamentary Committee that a total of 75 Indian military personnel were stationed in the Maldives.

In February 2021, the Maldivian opposition protested an MoU or draft agreement on maritime security signed by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar with the Maldives Defence Minister, in order to construct a Coast Guard harbour base at the Uthuru Thilafalhu atoll. The construction was inaugurated during a visit by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in May this year, and this has been the focus of the PPM’s “India Out” protests. 

‘Close collaboration needed’

While the MEA spokesperson did not specifically respond to Mr. Muizzu’s threat to remove Indian military personnel — a move that could overturn an important component of India-Maldives strategic ties in the past few years — he said that the two countries needed to cooperate “closely”.

“The focus of our partnership with Maldives has always been on capacity building and working together to address our shared challenges and priorities. As neighbours, we need to collaborate closely to address the challenges confronting our region such as transnational crimes and Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief,” Mr. Bagchi said, adding that the government looks forward to “engaging with the new administration in Maldives on all such issues.”