Under new president, Maldives tilts toward China, away from US’ Indo-Pacific ally India
- Mohamed Muizzu, who is viewed as pro-China, won October’s presidential election on a promise of getting Indian troops out of Maldives
- Washington has called Maldives an ‘integral part of a free and open Indo-Pacific region’, noting that it sits astride key international shipping lanes
When Maldives’ newly elected president, Mohamed Muizzu – who is largely viewed as pro-China – extended an invitation to the Indian prime minister to attend his oath-taking ceremony this month, Narendra Modi instead sent his earth sciences minister, Kireen Rijiju, to represent the country in Male.
The choice was symbolic. In the Indian parliament, Rijiju represents the state of Arunachal Pradesh, which is in the northeastern area of India that is claimed by China as “South Tibet”. To New Delhi’s dismay, Beijing issues “stapled visas” to the people of Arunachal instead of standard ones. The 1,864-mile (3,000km) Line of Actual Control, a tense de facto border between India and China, also passes through the state.
But while Rijiju did secure a personal audience with the new leader in Male, it came with a terse public message: remove Indian troops from Maldives.
In October, Muizzu won the election on the “India out” promise. The exact number of Indian military personnel in Maldives is not known. Ibrahim Khaleel, Maldives’ minister for strategic communication, has said that “the president himself will have to find out the number of Indian troops” – hinting at the level of secrecy maintained around the issue by Muizzu’s predecessor, Mohamed Solih, who referred to India as “closest friend”.
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US joins high-altitude military exercise with India near its Himalayan border with China
India is believed to have around 75 navy and coastguard staff in Maldives, a nation of islands popular for its turquoise waters and white sand beaches. According to Indian media reports, these are mostly technicians and crew involved in humanitarian and disaster relief work as the archipelago faces rising sea levels.