Here’s Why Indian Soldiers Are In The Maldives

After the diplomatic row between India and Maldives, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has requested India to withdraw its military personnel from his country by March 15. This was disclosed by a senior official on Sunday, nearly two months after Maldives asked for their removal.

Maldives and India have set up a high-level core group to negotiate the withdrawal of its soldiers from Maldivian soil. The first meeting of the group was held at the Foreign Ministry Headquarters in Male on Sunday morning. Indian High Commissioner Munu Mahawar also attended the meeting, Maldivian media reports said.

How many Indian soldiers are in the Maldives?

There are only 88 Indian military personnel in the Maldives, according to the latest government reports. There is no large contingent of Indian soldiers present on the island.

Analysts in the Maldives and India state that the ‘India Out’ campaign has exaggerated the part that these soldiers play in the Maldives. The protesters have portrayed their presence as a threat to the country’s national security.

Indian soldiers have been sent to the Maldives at various points for training Maldivian soldiers. They train in both combat and reconnaissance and rescue-aid operations. However, some Maldivian nationals, including politicians have protested their presence in the country.

During the recent presidential elections in the Maldives, there was disinformation and misinformation, particularly against India that raised anti-India sentiments. There have been multiple factors leading to this, like the pushing of a narrative that the Ibrahim Mohamed Solih-led Maldivian Democratic Party was a political party influenced by India. The team of the People’s National Congress & the Progressive Party of Maldives party is considered to be pro-China. Their representative President Muizzu won the 2023 presidential election.

The ‘India Out’ campaign started sometime in 2020. The resentment had been escalating ever since Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom of the Progressive Party (PPM), with a pro-China inclination, was elected president in 2013.

But why are Indian soldiers in the Maldives?

India and the Maldives have a long history. There have been arrangements of cooperation in a variety of areas, and that includes defense. The Indian soldiers entered the island in November 1988 for an actual military operation one time.

The purpose was to avert an attempted coup, at the request of the government of then-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. It was a quick operation where the Indian troops successfully managed to secure the President and seize the rebels. In the three decades following this Maldives has appreciated India’s role in this situation.

Why Muizzu wants Indian troops to leave Maldives?

The public policy secretary at the President’s Office, Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, said at a press
briefing that Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu who recently returned from his visit to China has formally asked India to end its army presence in Maldives.

Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, the public policy secretary at the President’s Office, said,

“Indian military personnel cannot stay in the Maldives. This is the policy of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and that of this administration”

The move arrives amid diplomatic tensions between both nations after three ministers from the Maldives government made “derogatory” remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he posted pictures from his recent visit to the Indian territory Lakshadweep.

President Muizzu, who is a pro-China leader said that he will remove all Indian troops from the island during the campaigning for the presidential polls

After taking oath as the President, he even requested India to withdraw its forces
instantly. He said that the Maldivian people have given him a “strong mandate” to make this request to New Delhi.

During his recent state visit to China, Muizzu aimed to align Maldives closer to Beijing. He even requested China to increase tourism to Maldives.

After returning from China, President Muizzu indirectly attacked India. Without naming any country he spoke to the press saying,

“We may be small, but that doesn’t give you the license to bully us.”

He also asserted plans to lower the country’s dependency on India, including securing imports of essential food commodities and medicine and consumables from other countries.

Addressing the reporters gathered at the Velana International Airport, he said,

“We aren’t in anyone’s backyard. We are an independent and sovereign state”

He said that no country regardless of its size has the right to exert influence over the domestic affairs of a country. He vowed that he would not allow any external influence on the domestic affairs of the Maldives.

Male is also reviewing more than 100 bilateral agreements with New Delhi signed by the previous government.

The Indian government did not immediately confirm or comment on the media report.