The President of the Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, pledged, the day after his swearing in on November 18, 2023, to expel the eighty-five Indian soldiers by May 10. In response, twenty-five soldiers stationed in the Addu atoll, the southernmost of the archipelago, have already been repatriated by New Delhi, an official from the Force told Agence France-Presse (AFP). national defense of the Maldives, Tuesday, March 12. The official date for the start of the withdrawal, agreed between the two parties, was set for March 10.
According to the Maldivian authorities, after the withdrawal of the Indian military, three reconnaissance aircraft given by New Delhi to Malé to monitor its vast maritime border will be operated by civilian personnel, who have already arrived in the Maldives.
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since the election in September in the Maldives of President Mohamed Muizzu, seen as favorable to China – the country's largest creditor. Since then, the archipelago has been the subject of a battle for influence between India and China while New Delhi considers the archipelago as part of its sphere of influence.
“We support the Maldives in protecting its territorial sovereignty,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday (March 12).
Last week, Malé signed a “military assistance” agreement with Beijing that aims to “strengthen bilateral ties,” the Maldivian defense ministry said. In January, Mr. Muizzu signed a series of agreements with the Chinese government in the areas of infrastructure, energy, maritime and agricultural sectors. The Indian authorities take a dim view of this rapprochement between the two countries, in a key region for maritime trade, off the southern tip of India.
