Maldives Launches Probe on Indian Deals while Muizzu was in New Delhi

Now let's look at the Maldives. Indias neighbor keeps blowing hot and cold. This weekend, their president was in New Delhi. Mohammed Muizu had come to India for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, swearing in ceremony. He'd been invited by the Government of India. It was an olive branch, a chance to reset fraying ties. Muizu even sat next to Modi during a banquet at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. And then he went on to meet Doctor S Jayashankar, who's taken charge again as Indias External Affairs Minister. Jayashankar said that he looked forward to India and the Maldives working together closely. It seemed like a reset was underway. But while Muizu was in India, his political party was making its moves. One of Muizu party MPs launched an inquiry an inquiry into three deals that Muizu predecessor had signed with India. The previous Maldivian government had signed with India and what is the reason for this investigation? Muizu party says the deals and I'm quoting undermine the sovereignty and independence of the Maldives. So while President Muizu was being treated like an honored guest in New Delhi, his party was busy painting India as the enemy in Mali. They were back to peddling their anti India and India out narrative while Muizu was in in India. So what are these deals that they want to investigate? The first one is the Hydrographic Survey agreement. It was signed in 2019 when Prime Minister Modi visited the Maldives. The deal was to help survey the countries territorial waters. This would help keep maps up to date, aiding in navigation and keeping the Maldives safe. The joint surveys have been taking place for the past five years. 944 square kilometers of the ocean have been mapped and this includes regions that have not been surveyed since 1853. This has helped the Maldives bring its navigational charts up to date. But now President Muizu and his party are against it. They, in fact, never liked the plan. They believe that it was a plot, a way for India to monitor the Maldives. So after he came to power, Muizu decided to undo the agreement. He allowed it to run till the 7th of June this year. That's when the surveys. The survey deal was to expire the 7th of June and now Muzu has refused to renew it and now this deal is under scrutiny. The second deal under the scanner is a dockyard project. India had agreed to develop support and maintain a Coast Guard, a Coast Guard harbor for the Maldives National Defense Force. The deal was signed in 2021 when SJ Shankar visited Malle. The deal was long in the works. The Maldives had raised the request back in 2013 and then again in 2015 and 2016. It took years to iron out the specifics of this harbor deal, but now Moizu's party is looking to discredit it. The third Indo Maldive in fact under scrutiny is the Dhoniya deal. I2020I gave the Maldives an aircraft. The Indian Navy sent a Dhonia maritime surveillance aircraft. This was for rescue and relief missions. Now normally this would have been celebrated, but Muizu party found an issue with this too. No one of the Maldives knew how to fly the Dhonia, so India sent soldiers, some eighty of them, to operate and maintain the Dhonia and other rescue aircraft. But Muizu only saw Indian troops on Maldivian soil, not the context behind their presence. And he made the troop deployment a rallying cry for his India Out campaign. The rescue personnel became the Indians that Muizu wanted out. Well, they are out now. All the Indian soldiers left the Maldives last month. They were replaced with civilians. But now no one knows how to fly the Dhonia and it is lying idle. Even though the matter is now closed, Muizu party does not want to let it rest. The Dhonia deal is part of this new inquiry. So why is Muizu Party doing all of this now when a reset of ties was so close? Well, it may be about domestic politics. Look at the MPs tweet again. He's going after the previous president Ibrahim Soli, the previous Maldivian president. Muizu party wants to corner Soli and the previous government by saying that they worked against Moldovan interests. The Indian deals seem to be an excuse, collateral damage in the domestic politics. But even if India is not the direct target, that this new incident leaves a bitter after taste because India extended its arm and friendship and Muizu Maldives has chosen to slap it away. 1st Post reports from the world's second largest continent. Hello, I'm Alison LaGrange, a very warm welcome from Durban, South Africa. We get you the news and the newsmakers from Africa. From elections to climate change to innovations and opportunities, as the world's attention shifts, we report from Africa, the heart of the global S Join me every weekday live on 1st Post.