India–Maldives relations

Maldives is located south of India's Lakshadweep Islands in the Indian Ocean. Both nations established diplomatic relations after the independence of Maldives from British rule in 1966.[1] India was one of the first nations to recognise Maldives' independence.[4] Since then, India and Maldives have developed close strategic, military, economic and cultural relations. India has supported Maldives' policy of keeping regional issues and struggles away from itself, and the latter has seen friendship with India as a source of aid as well as a counterbalance to Sri Lanka, which is in proximity to the island nation and its largest trading partner.[2]

India and Maldives officially and amicably decided their maritime boundary in 1976,[2] although a minor diplomatic incident occurred in 1982 when the brother of the President of Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom declared that the neighbouring Minicoy Island that belonged to India were a part of Maldives; Maldives quickly and officially denied that it was laying claim to the island.[2] India and Maldives signed a comprehensive trade agreement in 1981.[5] Both nations are founding members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the South Asian Economic Union and signatories to the South Asia Free Trade Agreement. Indian and Maldivian leaders have maintained high-level contacts and consultations on regional issues.[1]

In November 1988 speedboats carrying 80 armed militants of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam landed in Maldives and along with allies who had infiltrated the country, began taking over the government. The plot, planned in Sri Lanka by the Tamil nationalist group was believed to be an attempt by a Maldivian businessman and politician opposed to the regime of the President of Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to gain control while the PLOTE sought a safe haven and base for its activities.[2][3]

The militants took control of the airport in Malé, the national capital, but failed to capture the President of Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had fled and asked for military aid from India on 3 November.[1][2] The then-Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi ordered 1,600 troops to aid the Maldivian government. In a military operation codenamed "Operation Cactus," Indian forces arrived within 12 hours of the request for aid being made, squashed the coup attempt and achieved full control of the country within hours. 19 PLOTE militants were killed and 1 Indian soldier wounded.

According to Rejaul Karim Laskar, a scholar of Indian foreign policy, Indian intervention in 1988 coup in Maldives became necessary as in the absence of Indian intervention, external powers would have been tempted to intervene or even establish bases in Maldives which being in India’s backyard, India could not allow.[6]

India's intervention was endorsed by other nations such as United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom and its neighbours Nepal and Bangladesh.[1][2][3] President Reagan called India’s action, a valuable contribution to regional stability’. Margaret Thatcher reportedly commented: ‘Thank God for India: President Gayoom’s government has been saved. We could not have assembled and dispatched a force from here in good time to help him’. But the Sri Lankan Island newspaper commented, ‘It would be ostrich-like to ignore the fear of smaller nations in South Asia about current developments providing opportunities for what has been described as the spread of Indian hegemonism.’[7]

Its speedy and decisive victory and the restoration of the Maldivian government brought both nations even closer in friendship and cooperation.[1][2][3] In the wake of internal security crises and tensions with Sri Lanka, Maldives saw its relationship with India as a source of future security.[2][3]

Since the success of Operation Cactus, the relations between India and Maldives have expanded significantly.[2][3] India has provided extensive economic aid and has participated in bilateral programmes for the development of infrastructure, health, telecommunications and labour resources.[2][3] It established the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Malé, the capital of Maldives, expanded telecommunications and air links and increased scholarships for Maldivian students.[2] While India's exports to Maldives during 2006 were worth ₹384 crore, imports were worth less than ₹6 crore.[5] The State Bank of India has contributed more than US$500 million to aid the economic expansion of Maldives.[5] India and Maldives have announced plans to jointly work to expand fisheries and tuna processing.[5]

On April 2006 Indian Navy gifted a Trinkat Class Fast Attack Craft of 46 m length to Maldives National Defence Force's Coast Guard.

India started the process to bring the island country into India's security grid. The move comes after the moderate Islamic nation approached New Delhi earlier in 2009, over fears that one of its island resorts could be taken over by terrorists given its lack of military assets and surveillance capabilities.[8] India has also signed an agreement which includes following:[8]

• India will permanently base two helicopters in the country to enhance its surveillance capabilities and ability to respond swiftly to threats.
• Maldives has coastal radars on only two of its 26 atolls. India will help set up radars on all 26 for seamless coverage of approaching vessels and aircraft.
• The coastal radar chain in Maldives will be networked with the Indian coastal radar system. India has already undertaken a project to install radars along its entire coastline. The radar chains of the two countries will be interlinked and a central control room in India's Coastal Command will get a seamless radar picture.
• The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) will carry out regular Dornier sorties over the island nation to look out for suspicious movements or vessels. The Southern Naval Command will overlook the inclusion of Maldives into the Indian security grid.
• Military teams from Maldives will visit the tri-services Andaman Nicobar Command (ANC) to observe how India manages security and surveillance of the critical island chain.
• Ekuverin, an annual joint military exercise is held every year since 2009 between India and Maldives. The exercise aims to enhance the interoperability between the Indian Army and Maldives National Defence Force in order to effectively undertake counter-terrorism operations in urban or semi-urban environments.

Bilateral relations between the two countries hit an all-time low after the GMR row. Indian government froze its US$25 million aid to the island nation. Construction of a national police academy in Maldives has also been put on the back burner besides other infrastructure commitments that India had made to Maldives earlier. The ties between the two countries strained after the cancellation of the GMR airport contract, the largest single Indian investment in the island nation, but the real reason for New Delhi's anguish is said to be the anti-India sentiments being aired by some parties in President Mohamed Waheed's coalition.

In the wake of a drinking water crisis in Malé' on 4 December 2014, following collapse of the island's only water treatment plant, Maldives urged India for immediate help. India came to rescue by sending its heavy lift transporters like C-17 Globemaster III, Il-76 carrying bottled water. The navy also sent her ships like INS Sukanya, INS Deepak and others which can produce fresh water using their onboard desalination plants.[9][10] The humanitarian relief efforts by the Indian side was widely appreciated in Malé across all sections of people even the Vice-President of Maldives thanked the Indian ambassador for swift action.[11]

Maldives' first democratically elected President from 2008 to 2012 Mohammed Nasheed, was arrested on 22 February 2015 on terror charges. India and US expressed concern over Nasheed's arrest and manhandling.[12][13] Indian PM Modi was to also visit Maldives in the second week of March as a part four nation visit to Indian Ocean neighbours. But, he later omitted Maldives from his tour.[14][15]

• Indians in the Maldives
• Maldivians in India