India should respect Maldives' sovereignty

Whether India will withdraw its troops from the Maldives by March 15 as required by the island country's government may be a matter of dignity for India. But for the Maldives, it is a matter of sovereignty.

The Maldives' foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday that officials from both countries met in New Delhi and agreed that India would begin withdrawing troops from the Maldives on March 10 and complete the process by May 10. So it seems that both sides have reached a deal on the withdrawal of Indian troops from the island country.

What is weird is the fact that the Indian side did not mention the withdrawal of its troops, instead its foreign ministry said the two countries "agreed on a set of mutually workable solutions to enable continued operation of Indian aviation platforms" that provide humanitarian services to the Maldives.

It is believed that there are at least 75 Indian military personnel in the Maldives and their known activities include transporting patients from remote islands and rescuing people at sea.

Mohamed Muizzu became the first president of the Maldives to make China the destination for his first official trip in the region rather than India. Immediately after he concluded his successful China trip last month, he said to the media that the Maldives' smaller size did not give any country the license to bully it, which many believe was a reference to India.

In the latest flare-up of frictions between the two countries on the issue, Indian military personnel boarded the Maldives' fishing vessels. The Maldives' defense ministry released a statement on the incident on Feb 2. But it did not explain what the Indian military personnel did on the boats.

"On Feb 1, 2024, the foreign ministry of the Maldives has asked (India) officially for the details of the operation that was carried out while Maldivians were fishing in the Maldivian exclusive economic zone, without any coordination with the relevant authorities and against all international laws," the statement said in the native Dhivehi language.

There is no justification for India to defy the request of the Maldives, a sovereign country, by maintaining its military presence there.

It is quite probably for the sake of saving its face that India does not want to mention the withdrawal of its troops. With an election drawing close, the pullout of Indian troops from the neighboring island country may be considered as a humiliating diplomatic setback for the Narendra Modi administration.

India is a big country that has traditional friendly relations with the Maldives. It should respect the sovereignty of its neighbor. Chauvinism and a big brother attitude will only further worsen relations between the two countries, and the stability of the region.