Mohamed Muizzu, the President-elect of the Maldives, known for his strong pro-China stance, has reportedly urged India to withdraw its military troops from the Maldives. Muizzu, who secured victory in last month’s elections and is set to be inaugurated in November, made this statement during an interview with BBC on October 22. He revealed that shortly after his election win, he met with the Indian ambassador, Munu Mahawar, and conveyed a clear message that all Indian military personnel should be removed from the Maldives.
Muizzu’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) campaigned on the platform that the outgoing President, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, allowed India an unchecked presence in the Indian Ocean region. Muizzu repeatedly claimed that under Solih’s leadership, the Maldives’ sovereignty was jeopardized by the Indian military presence on the island, which had been a central point of the party’s long-standing “India out” strategy. The exact number of Indian troops in the Maldives remains uncertain. In 2021, the Maldivian defense force stated that approximately 75 Indian military personnel were stationed in the country to operate and maintain Indian aircraft.
Muizzu argues that the continued presence of Indian troops could potentially place the Maldives at risk in the event of tensions between India and China along their Himalayan border. He emphasized that the Maldives, as a small nation, should avoid becoming entangled in the global power struggle between these two giants. It’s worth noting that India has been a significant source of development aid for the Maldives, contributing around $2 billion and providing essential resources like helicopters for disaster response and rescue operations.
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