India is ready to withdraw its military presence in the Maldives by March 15 following the announcement of the President of the Maldives Muhammed Muizzu. Defense sources told India Today that the Indian Defense Force is listening to the government’s instructions in this regard. According to the Maldives National Defense Force, there are currently 77 Indian soldiers and related assets in the Maldives. Controversy erupted last week in relation to three deputy ministers of the Muisu government against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media. The news regarding the withdrawal of Indian troops from the Maldives is also circulating amid a diplomatic row related to the controversies.
Ministers of Maldives were suspended in case of derogatory comments under ‘X’ post following Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep. Maldives has raised allegations that Prime Minister Modi is making efforts to present Lakshadweep as an alternative tourist destination to Maldives.
Muisu was elected as the President of Maldives last year. Since then, Maldives has started to distance itself in its relations with India. Pro-China Muisu came to power raising anti-Indian slogans. A decade ago, India provided Dhruva helicopters and Dornier aircraft to the Maldives for infrastructure development. The Indian Defense Force maintains these aircraft and trains Maldivian forces there.
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Maldives is located right next to the major shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean. Countries like China, Japan and India have already set their sights on this strategic location. A few years ago, China started sending its naval vessels to the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean for anti-piracy operations. Since then, the importance of Maldives for India has increased.
With an economy largely dependent on tourism, the Maldives receives more than 200,000 visitors from India every year. According to the Indian High Commission in Male, 2.41 lakh people visited the island nation in 2022 and nearly two lakh in 2023.
2024-01-16 04:32:33
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