Muizzu looks to Sino than Indo
Our relationship with the Maldives has turned sour of late after the ascendance of pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu. This is unfortunate, as India has always been an all-weather friend of the Maldives, especially in times of distress, proven time and again. While India’s only interest is to be a good neighbour and ensure an Indian Ocean region free of global power games, China’s motives are expansionist…
"In 2014, the Maldives faced severe water crisis due to a fire in the complex of the Male water and sewerage company. India stood to help under its ‘Operation Neer’. Shiploads of water were dispatched"
These days we are hearing a lot about the Maldives for the wrong reasons. This has been happening for the last few months, ever since the election of Mohamed Muizzu as President. He is close to China and has won the election on the slogan of ‘Out India’. He defeated India-centric President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. The first two countries he visited on assuming office were Turkiye and China, in total contrast to the tradition of visiting India first by a new Maldivian President. The new ministers of his government too stooped low by uploading bad posts against India and the Indian Prime Minister, when he was visiting Lakshadweep. After being asked by the Maldives, India is withdrawing about 80 soldiers and two helicopters stationed there for humanitarian aid.
Maldives is one of the smallest countries in Asia, located at about 780 km away from our mainland. It has a population of about 500,000 and a land area of 298 sq.km. It is, however, strategically placed in the Indian Ocean with 1192 coral islands with the total area including both sea and land adding up to about 90,000 sq.km. Only 200 islands are inhabited. The following is an extract of a report given by the Environment Minister of the Maldives in 2021 on the issue of global change: “The Maldives is one of the most low-lying nations in the world, and for us climate change is an existential threat. There is no higher ground we can run to. It is really just us, the islands and the sea. Eighty per cent of the islands are less than a metre above sea level. Over 90 per cent of the islands report flooding annually. Ninety-seven per cent are reporting shoreline erosion. Fifty per cent of all our housing structures are within just 100 metres of the coastline. So most cannot withstand tidal floods let alone tsunamis.”
A decade ago, a high-level delegation to India reportedly requested India for living-space on its western coast, in case of natural calamity due to global warming. The change in behaviour of the Maldives is surprising, as India being a close neighbour has been helping it in the past and it may need our help in the future too. Even today, Indian tourists are the largest group visiting the Maldives and thus helping its economy. Our Prime Minister had gone to the Maldives to felicitate the previous President Solih during his swearing-in ceremony.
Indeed, Maldives is a beautiful jewel like archipelago and a place anybody would like to go. Geography makes it beautiful but it has a history too. Documented contact with the outside world began around 947 AD, when Arab travellers began visiting the islands. In the 12th century due to the importance of Arabs and Persians as traders, Islam reached this archipelago and now almost 99.5 per cent of its people are Muslims. During the medieval period it became a Sultanate with trading ties with Asia and Africa. From the mid-16th century, the region came under the increasing influence of European colonial powers and finally it became a British protectorate in 1887. The Maldives got independence from UK in 1965 and a presidential republic was established in 1968. However, the ensuing period witnessed many upheavals and challenges. Today, it is a member of the United Nations, a member of the Commonwealth, and of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Going to its ancient history, the original settlers were from India and then from Sri Lanka. Buddhism existed for more than 500 years prior to the coming of the Arabs and its gradual conversion to Islam.
India always had a close relationship with the Maldives and it was among the first to recognise Maldives after its independence. We established our diplomatic mission at Male, its capital, in 1972. Bilateral ties were nurtured and strengthened by regular contacts. The relationship has deteriorated in recent times with the China friendly government being elected. The ‘Operation Cactus’ of 1988 by India in the Maldives is an illustration of the India-Maldives relationship. This was an Indian military intervention to thwart a coup led by Abdullah Luthufi and Sri Lankan militants. President Gayoom sought aid and India swiftly deployed forces including a Parachute Brigade. President Gayoom was saved and the militants were deported while some were legally punished.
"Maldives is one of the smallest countries in Asia, located 780 km away from our mainland. It has a population of about 500,000 and a land area of 298 sq.km. It is strategically placed in the Indian Ocean with 1192 coral islands with the total area including both sea and land adding up to about 90,000 sq.km, only 200 islands being inhabited"
Malé, the capital of the Maldives
In 2014, the Maldives faced severe water crisis due to a fire in the complex of the Male Water and Sewerage Company. India stood to help under its ‘Operation Neer’. Shiploads of water were dispatched. During the time of Covid-19, India also gave immediate assistance. Under ‘Operation Sanjeevani’, India supplied 6.2 tonnes of essential medicines. The facility of air ambulance was also kept in place and for that helicopters were kept in operation. This facility is still in a working mode. Indian doctors have been deployed in their hospitals. The State Bank of India has been playing a pivotal role in the development of the Maldives since 1974 by providing loan assistance for promotion of island resorts, export of marine products and business enterprises. India also participated in developing their infrastructure.
It is said that a country can change its friend but not its neighbour. This is true for India and the Maldives. India and the Maldives are neighbours sharing a maritime border. Relations have been close in strategic, economic and military co-operation. But when our neighbour starts suffering from the Chinese virus, it gives rise to hiccups in the bilateral relationship of the two countries. India is engaged in the $ 500 million Greater Male Project which aims to link the capital with three adjacent islands through a 6.74 km long sea bridge. India and the Maldives inked the 1976 Maritime treaty and the 1988 Comprehensive Trade Agreement. India sent more than 2 lakh tourists to Maldives last year which happened to be the largest after Russian and Chinese tourists.
Today there is a thaw in the relationship between the two countries. Maldives won the Presidential election by instigating anti-India sentiment. People there were made to believe by the Chinese agents that their big neighbour will gulp them. Election won on that sentiment is now showing its colours. If the Indian Prime Minister goes to his own island and speaks good about that place (Lakshadweep), it infuriates some people in the Maldives. This is an example of souring relationship between the two countries.
It is really sad that Maldives is falling into the debt trap of China. IMF has warned it about that. China in its expansionist objective, first gives loans to small countries and once the debt starts mounting, it tries to use that weak country and its assets for its own advantage. This happened with Sri Lanka and it is happening with Pakistan and a few African countries. Today Maldives is blind and does not see the Chinese game of destruction. It fails to understand that it is their neighbour India, which has been helping them and will always help them in case of any need. The world knows that India helped Sri Lanka, another neighbour, when that country was badly harmed by the debt trap of China.
India believes in treating the world as its family. We helped many needy countries by supplying free vaccines during Covid-19. The behaviour of Maldives towards India gives us pain and not anger. We are neighbours and will always remain so. Our strategic interest is that we want the Indian Ocean free from global power games. China tries to encircle us both on sea and on land to use our neighbours as its strategic assets against India. Maldives has not given any heed to what President John F Kennedy had said, “Domestic policy can defeat us, foreign policy can kill us.”
We wish the best for the Maldives.