India and the Maldives held second round of high-level core group
meeting in New Delhi on February 2, 2024 on Male’s demand for the withdrawal of
all Indian military personnel. The Maldivian foreign ministry claimed that the Indian
government had agreed to pull out troops by May 10.
However, the External Affairs Ministry's report has 'no mention of troop withdrawals.' On the contrary, Ministry of External Affairs said, "Both sides also agreed on a set of mutually workable solutions to enable continued operation of Indian aviation platforms." At present, the relations between India and Maldives are not good and to understand why the relations of India and Maldives are trending here is some clarification.
India's relations with Maldives before this political turmoil
Relations between India and the Maldives have been genial, the two share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious, and commercial links since ancient times and enjoyed close and interdisciplinary relations. India was among the first to recognize Maldives after its independence in 1965 and established diplomatic ties with the country, just like Soviet Union did for India.
Maldives had also consistently supported India on international issues and in the UN, Commonwealth, NAM and SAARC. In November 1988, during the Maldives coup attempt India had given its full support. India was also the first to assist the country during natural crisis like the 2004 tsunami and the water crisis in December 2014. India has also abundantly contributed to tourism in the Maldives, which makes up a major part of its economy being an island nation.
In 2023, India surpassed the chart in terms of the number of tourists visiting the island nation.
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India has always been an ally for this country and hence also had a big significant role to play. The previous president of Maldives, Ibrahim Mohammed Solih, has called India “the best friend...” of Maldives.
What are the main reasons behind this diplomatic turmoil?
Mainly the reasons are divided into three subpoints-
At present there has been an, ‘Promotion of Reciprocal Relations' between China and Maldives. Both the countries announced their ties to a Strategic Cooperative Alliance, deepening their relationship.
Secondly, a trend of an ‘India-Out Campaign’ can be seen since last year’s presidential term, Maldivian politics has witnessed a campaign focused on an “India Out” platform, branding Indian presence as a threat to Maldivian sovereignty especially with the presence of Indian troops. The current Maldives’ President, Mohammed Miuzzu has set a deadline of 15th March, 2024, for the withdrawal of Indian troops.
Lastly, the ‘tourism plot’ in the Maldives where a diplomatic dispute arose from derogatory comments directed towards the Indian PM after his promotional visit to the Lakshadweep islands. As a consequence, a boycott Maldives trend has been floating social media platforms of India as a response to this controversy.
To conclude, the Maldives government is taking swift conciliatory action by suspending ministers to reflect an effort to manage the crisis. Therefore, both countries are engaging in regular diplomatic meetings to rebuild trust. Decisions are being taken to resolve this diplomatic mess urgently.
Sources:
§ Hindustan Times website – https://www.hindustantimes.com/videos/world-news/india-spoils-chinas-maldives-plan-as-muizzu-changes-tune-from-withdraw-to-replace-troops-101706945871527.html
§ Ministry of External Affairs website - https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Maldives-January-2012.pdf
§ Deccan
Herald Website –https://www.deccanherald.com/india/india-good-friend-of-maldives-key-initiatives-that-strengthened-ties-over-the-years-2841027
Image credit:
https://images.app.goo.gl/yRjCdrG96d7teaxu9
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