Will evict Indian troops from Maldives in 1st week of presidency, says president-elect Mohamed Muizzu

Maldives president-elect Mohamed Muizzu, who will formally take over the top post next month, has reiterated that he will evict Indian troops from the archipelago in the first week of his presidency through diplomatic means.

Asserting this was one of his top priorities, Muizzu, who is widely seen as a pro-China leader, said that he will request India to remove its troops on “day one” after taking over as president.

In an interview to Al Jazeera, he said, “I have actually met with the Indian high commissioner few days ago during the transition period and during that meeting itself, I had mentioned that we need this to be our top most priority. They have positively noted that and have said that they will work together with us to find a way forward on this.”

Muizzu defeated the incumbent Ibrahim Solih, who was widely seen as more favourably inclined towards India, in a presidential run off last month. He, however, admitted he wasn’t aware of the number of Indian military personnel in the Maldives.

“We have been a very peaceful country for centuries. We never had any foreign troops on our soil. We do not have a big military set up and with any foreign troops on our soil, we don’t feel secure,” he added.

Asked if his foreign policy will see a tilt towards China, Muizzu said he will follow a pro-Maldives policy.

“We will not side with any country to please them. We want our interests to be secured first. Any country, which respects that, will be our good friend,” said Muizzu.

Earlier, he had made the similar comments at a celebration of his election victory on 4 October.

Muizzu had then told his supporters that he wouldn’t stand for a foreign military staying in the Maldives against the will of its citizens.

“The people have told us that they don’t want foreign military here,” he had said.

It is being seen as a serious blow to India in its geopolitical rivalry with China in the India Ocean region, where the Maldives’ presidential run-off election was seen as a virtual referendum on which of the regional powers would have the biggest influence on the archipelago.

Solih, who was elected President in 2018, was battling allegations by Muizzu that he had allowed India an unchecked presence in the country. Muizzu’s party, the People’s National Congress, is viewed as heavily pro-China.

Muizzu’s main campaign theme was about an alleged threat to the Maldives’ sovereignty by some Indian military personnel on an island, part of the party’s yearslong “India out” strategy.

Known for its five-star resorts, turquoise waters and white sand, the archipelago has turned into a political battleground for India and China as both the countries try to increase their influence in the region.

India was among the first to recognise Maldives after its independence in 1965 and to establish diplomatic relations with the country. Since establishment of diplomatic relations, almost all the Prime Ministers of India visited the Maldives.

Former President Gayoom made a number of visits to India. President Mohamed Nasheed’s first visit to abroad after assuming office was to India in December 2008.

On international issues Maldives had consistently supported India in multilateral fora, such as the UN, the Commonwealth, the NAM and the SAARC.

Maldives was one of the first countries to convey its support for the candidature of Shri Kamalesh Sharma as the Commonwealth Secretary General.

With inputs from agencies