During a recent press briefing, Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, the public policy secretary at the President's Office, announced that Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, following his return from a trip to China, has officially requested India to withdraw its military personnel from the Maldives.
As per the most recent government data, there are currently 88 Indian military members stationed in the country, as well as two HAL Dhruv helicopters and two Dornier 228 maritime patrol helicopters.
“Indian military personnel cannot stay in the Maldives. This is the policy of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and that of this administration,” Ibrahim said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of the Maldives had a brief discussion about the troop withdrawal problem last month during their meeting outside of the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, according to Media.
Not long after taking office, Muizzu declared his unwavering commitment to keeping the Maldives "free" of any "foreign military presence" in order to protect the country's independence and sovereignty. The Maldives, he claimed, are too small to be involved in geopolitical rivalry. Additionally, he declared that he has no desire to meddle in the Maldives' ongoing foreign policy.
"Maldives is too small to get caught up in geopolitical rivalry. I am not very interested in interfering in the country's foreign policy," Muizzu noted.
India, Maldives Tensions Rise Amid Geopolitical Shifts
Since Muizzu took over in Male, ties between India and the Maldives have deteriorated. After Indian PM Modi's visit to the Indian islands of Lakshadweep, the three deputy ministers of the island nation made derogatory comments about him, further deteriorating the bilateral relationship.
Indians retaliated to the remarks by refusing to travel to the Maldives. In response, Muizzu declared lately that although his nation is small, it 'cannot be bullied.'
Meanwhile, Adam Azim, the candidate of the opposition party, won the Male mayoral elections, dealing a blow to Muizzu's party. "Landslip" and "victory by a large margin" were used to describe Azim's triumph. With 5,303 ballots out of 41 boxes counted, Azim, a member of the Maldives Democratic Party, defeated Aishath Azima Shakoor of Muizzu's People's National Congress (PNC), who received 3,301 votes.