Maldives: Pro-China President Muizzu defines India as ‘closest ally’, seeks debt relief from nation

After his anti-India rhetoric, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has struck a reconciliatory tone saying that India will continue to remain its closest allies and urged New Delhi to provide debt relief to the archipelago nation. The Maldives owes approximately USD 400.9 million to India by the end of last year.

Ever since he took oath as the President of Maldives in November 2023, the pro-China leader has pursued a hardline stance towards India and within hours of had demanded that Indian military personnel operating three aviation platforms be repatriated from his country by May 10, 2024.

On March 22, 2024, in his first interview with the local media after assuming charge, Muizzu said India was instrumental in providing aid to Maldives and has implemented greatest number of projects. India will continue to remain Maldives closest ally, he said and emphasised that there was no question about it.

The Maldives media said in report that carried Muizzu’s interview excerpts to Dhivehi language sister publication Miharu. Muizzu’s comments praising India came after the first batch of Indian military personnel left the island nation this month as planned. By May 10, 2024, the Muizzu demanded all 88 military personnel manning three aviation platforms must leave the country.

India has been providing humanitarian and medical evacuation services to the people of Maldives for the last few years using two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft. The nation’s proximity with India barely 70 nautical miles from the island of Minicoy in Lakshadweep and 300 nautical miles from the mainland’s west coast and its location at the hub of global, commercial sea lanes running through the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) gives it strategic importance.

During the interview, Muizzu urged India to accommodate debt relief measures for the Maldives in the repayment of hefty loans taken over consecutive governments. “The conditions that we have inherited are such that are very large loans taken from India. Hence, we are holding discussions to explore leniencies in the repayment structure of these loans.

He also said Maldives has taken significant loans from India, which are heftier than can be borne by the island nations economy. “Due to this, he is currently discussing with the Indian government to explore options to repay the loans to the best of Maldives economic capabilities,” the news portal quoted him as saying.

During the previous regime, headed by the pro-India leader Ibrahim Mohammed Solih’s administration, the total amount of loans taken from the Export and Import Bank of India stood at 1.4 million USD. Together with this, the amount owed to Maldives by the end of last year stood at MVR 6.2 billion. At the current rate of 1MVR equal to 16 USD, this is approximately USD 400.09 billion.

“I also conveyed to PM Modi during our meeting that I did not intend to halt any ongoing projects Instead, I expressed my desire to strengthen and expedite them,” he said, referring to his discussion with PM Modi in Dubai at the sidelines of the of the COP-28 Summit in Dubai in December 2023.

“I suggested a high-level committee be established, one designed for quick decision making even in the bridge project to ensure speedy work. The same for Hanimaadhoo Airport” he added. Answering a question about the Indian military personnel, Muizzu termed it as the only matter of contention that arose with India about the presence of Indian military in the Maldives and added that India too had accepted the fact and agreed to withdraw military personnel.

“It is not nice to dismiss or disregard aid from one country to another as useless, he said and claimed that he had not taken action or made any statement that may strain the relationship with the two countries. “Even if they are troops of some other country, we will deal with them in a same manner. I have said so very clearly. It is nothing personal but rather a matter of national security,” he added.

Muizzu said his government acted to find the swiftest and most prudent solution through deliberations to deal with the issues of Indian military in Maldives. He defended his agreement with India to deploy civilians in the place of military personnel to run the helicopters and Dornier aircraft, saying that the Abdullah Yameen government which demanded that the Indian troops can be sent out has not succeeded as Indian personnel remained in the Maldives.

Meanwhile, amid his strenuous ties with India, the Muizzu had pursued a pro-China policy starting with his first trip to Beijing. During his visit to China, he signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation besides signing 20 agreements to assist Maldives infrastructure after his meeting with Xi Jinping.

China also announced a USD 130 million grant besides promising to send more Chinese tourists to the tourism-dependent Maldives. After his return from China, Muizzu, without naming any country, said Maldives may be a small country, but “that is not a license for anybody to bully us.” Muizzu also terminated a hydrography agreement with India and has been claiming that the Indian Ocean does not belong to any particular country.