Indian Defence Minister’s visit to Maldives

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• India - Maldives Bilateral relation
• India’s interest in Maldives
• India and Maldives Bilateral relation: In Brief
• Challenges in the relationship between India and Maldives
• News Summary: Indian Defence Minister’s visit to Maldives
• Key highlights of the visit of Indian Defence Minister’s visit to Maldives

 

Why in news?

• Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh paid a 3-day official visit to Maldives.
• As a special gesture, reflecting the warmth in the bilateral relations, the Defence Minister of Maldives broke protocol and personally received the Raksha Mantri upon arrival at the airport.

 

India - Maldives Bilateral relation

India’s interest in Maldives

• Strategic Importance
  • Maldives is barely 70 nautical miles away from Minicoy and 300 nautical miles away from India’s West coast.
  • It is situated at the hub of commercial sea‐lanes running through Indian Ocean (particularly the 8° N and 1 ½° N channels).
• Geo-political interest
  • Securing sea lanes of communication;
  • Fighting piracy and sea-based terrorism;
  • Making Indian Ocean a conflict free zone and restoring its status as sea of tranquil;
  • Exploring blue economy and Enhancing trade
• China Angle
  • China’s strategic footprint in India’s neighbourhood has increased.
  • The Maldives has emerged as an important 'pearl' in China’s “String of Pearls” construct in South Asia.
• Internal security angle: Radicalisation
  • In the past, the number of Maldivians drawn towards terrorist groups like the Islamic State (IS) had increased.
  • Political instability and socio-economic uncertainty are further fuelling the rise of Islamist radicalism in the island nation.
  • This gives rise to the possibility of remote Maldivian islands being used as a launch pad for terror attacks against India and Indian interests.

 

India and Maldives Bilateral relation: In Brief

• Political Relation
  • PM Modi, on his first overseas visit after taking oath of the office for his second term, visited Maldives in June 2019.
  • During this visit, he addressed a session of the newly constituted People’s Majlis.
  • He was only the second foreign Head of State or Government to address the People’s Majlis in its 86-year history.
• Trade and economic cooperation
  • India-Maldives bilateral trade stood at crossed the USD 300 million mark for the first time in 2021, reaching an impressive USD 323.9 million.
    • Bilateral trade is heavily favoured towards India.
  • India emerged as Maldives’ 3rd largest trade partner in 2021.
• Cooperation during the COVID -19 Pandemic
  • Operation Sanjeevani – Under this operation, India, in April 2020, supplied 6.2 tonnes of essential medicines to Maldives.
  • Indian Government has also evacuated nine Maldives nationals from Wuhan, China, where the COVID-19 was first identified.
  • In January 2021, India delivered 1 lakh doses of Made in India COVID-19 Vaccines to Maldives under the “Vaccine Maitri” initiative.
• Security & defence cooperation
  • India provides the largest number of training opportunities for Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF), meeting around 70% of their defence training requirements.
  • Key projects in the Defence Sector includes Composite Training Centre for MNDF, Coastal Radar System (CRS) and construction of new Ministry of Defence Headquarters.
  • India and the Maldives signed a pact for the development of the coast guard facility in 2021 when New Delhi also extended a $50 million line of credit to the Maldives for defence projects.

 

Challenges in the relationship between India and Maldives

• India out campaign
  • The campaign is backed by the country’s Opposition leader Abdulla Yameen.
  • It aims to fuel more hatred by creating scepticism for India’s investments in Maldives, the defence partnerships between the two, and India’s net-security provisions.
  • It accuses the government of Maldives of allowing Indian boots on the ground, and thereby compromising the sovereignty of the island nation.
• Radicalisation in Maldives
  • The Maldives has become the country with the highest rate of foreign fighters per capita in the world.
  • This has been revealed by a 2020 report by the European Foundation for South Asian Studies.
• Presence of China
  • China is increasing its presence in Indian Ocean region.

 

News Summary: Indian Defence Minister’s visit to Maldives

• Defence Minister of India visited Male on the invitation of his Maldivian Counterpart Defence Minister Ms Mariya Didi.

 

Key highlights of the visit of Indian Defence Minister’s visit to Maldives

• Launched construction of a harbour for the Coast Guard of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF)
  • The foundation stone for the Coast Guard ‘Ekatha Harbour’ was laid by Defence Minister and his Maldivian counterpart.
  • The foundation stone was laid at Sifavaru in Uthuru Thila Falhu (UTF) atoll, where India is assisting in construction of a naval dockyard.
    • The UTF Harbour Project is among the biggest Indian grant-in-aid projects in Maldives.
    • The coast guard facility is expected to end the practice of the Maldives sending its vessels abroad for maintenance.
• Handed over a Fast Patrol Vessel and a Landing Craft Assault ship to the MNDF
  • During this visit, Indian Defence Minister handed over a Fast Patrol Vessel and a Landing Craft Assault ship to the Maldives National Defence Forces (MNDF).
  • The Fast Patrol Vessel, capable of coastal and offshore surveillance at high speeds, was commissioned as MNDF Coast Guard ship Huravee.
• Highlighted India’s strong defence cooperation with Maldives
  • Indian Defence Minister asserted that the ties emanate from the twin policies of ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region).

 

---

Q1) What is the geographical location of Maldives?

The Maldives is a South Asian Island country located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Sri Lanka and India. It is composed of a double chain of twenty-six atolls, oriented north-south, that lie between Minicoy Island (the southernmost part of Lakshadweep, India) and the Chagos Archipelago. The country's capital and largest city is Malé, located on the southern edge of North Malé Atoll.

 

Q2) What is ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region)?

SAGAR' (Security and Growth for All in the Region) is a foreign policy doctrine of the Indian government that was announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015. The doctrine aims to strengthen India's relationships and cooperation with the countries of the Indian Ocean region, particularly in the areas of security, economic development, and cultural ties.

 

---

Source: Rajnath, Maldives minister launch Delhi-assisted harbour construction | Indian High Commission in Male | PIB