‘Indian servicemen in Maldives subject of disinformation’ — ex Maldivian spokesperson, amid diplomatic row

‘Indian servicemen in Maldives subject of disinformation’ — ex Maldivian spokesperson, amid diplomatic row

New Delhi: The 75 unarmed Indian military personnel deployed in the Maldives were engaged in humanitarian and capacity-building exercises, as well as rescue and medical operations, and were subjects of disinformation, Safaath Ahmed, a former spokesperson for the Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told ThePrint in an interaction Wednesday.

Ahmed was referring to claims by ‘India Out’ protestors that there were thousands of Indian military personnel stationed in the Maldives.

“When we look at the 75 personnel based in Maldives, they have been based in the Maldives for over a decade. They are unarmed and mostly assist the Maldivian government with search and evacuation operations, (and) with medical evacuation operations. This whole situation was taken out of context,” she said.

Ahmed added: “India is a strategic ally, with a very small military presence, which was disclosed by (the previous) President (Ibrahim) Solih’s administration. But there was huge disinformation surrounding this subject and activists, who were opposition activists at the time, kept claiming that there were thousands of (Indian) military personnel.”

“No matter what people are alleging and the disinformation that is being spread, the Indian military personnel who have been stationed for more than a decade (in the Maldives) have been stationed with the (Maldives) government’s permission,” she further said.

The former Maldivian foreign affairs ministry spokesperson highlighted that from January 2019 until late 2023, 495 lives had been saved owing to medical evacuations and special training conducted by the Indian personnel in Maldives and via two helicopters gifted by New Delhi to Malé.

“Up to 50 joint search rescue missions have been conducted through these engagements. We must understand the depth of our security engagements with India, which is highly beneficial (to the Maldives),” Ahmed said.

Her comments come in the wake of ties between New Delhi and Malé getting strained by disparaging remarks made by the island nation’s three deputy ministers on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indians in general. The ministers have since been suspended.

The comments by the Maldivian deputy ministers came after PM Modi pitched Lakshadweep as a tourist hub during a visit there. The row that began due to social media posts by the deputy ministers has seen social media users call for a boycott of tourism to the Maldives which, Ahmed said, was the “lifeblood” of the nation’s economy.

‘Situation a bit surreal’

Indian tourists make up almost 11 percent of the market share of tourist arrivals to the Maldives, according to data published by the Maldivian ministry of tourism in November last year.

Ahmed pointed out that tourism makes up almost two-thirds of the Maldivian gross domestic product and any boycott, especially by Indians, would have negative repercussions on the economy.

“This situation is a bit surreal for many of the Maldivians, disappointingly rather because the Maldives’ economy is heavily dependent on tourism and the dependence on tourism makes our economy very vulnerable to macro-economic and external shocks,” said Ahmed.

‘Must pursue security arrangements with India’ 

Ahmed highlighted the historic nature of ties between New Delhi and Malé and the role India has played in providing the Maldives with economic benefits and security.

“We must also understand that the scope of Indian maritime security assistance to the Maldives is very considerable and the Maldives should pursue such efficient security arrangements with India because we have a maritime jurisdiction of archipelago waters of more than 9,00,000 square kilometres,” she said.

According to Ahmed, it was “well beyond the capabilities of the Maldivian administration” to “properly govern” this large maritime jurisdiction.

Maldivian president Mohamed Muizzu, in his first speech after assuming the nation’s presidency last year, had vowed to remove all foreign military personnel from the archipelago, hours after informing Union minister Kiren Rijiju that New Delhi must withdraw its military presence.

Rijiju had traveled to Malé at the time (November 2023) to attend Muizzu’s swearing-in ceremony.

Ahead of the elections in Maldives last year, Muizzu, the then-opposition candidate, ran on a promise of reducing New Delhi’s influence in the smallest country in Asia.

Muizzu is also the first Maldivian president to visit Türkiye, the UAE and China before visiting India.

During his first state visit to China this month, Muizzu met President Xi Jinping Wednesday and signed over 20 ‘key’ agreements and upgraded Malé-Beijing ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, as reported by ThePrint.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)