‘No room’ for India to delay Maldives troop withdrawal

India will withdraw its troops from Maldives by March 10, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Maldives said after the second high-level meeting between the two sides in New Delhi.

Experts said on Sunday that Indian military presence in Maldives is a matter of sovereignty, and India has little room for maneuver in withdrawing its troops.

India’s foreign ministry said the two countries “agreed on a set of mutually workable solutions to enable continued operation of Indian aviation platforms” that provide humanitarian services to Maldives.

However, the ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the troop pullout, and its statement did not mention a timeframe, Indian media outlet The Hindu reported on Saturday.

India has about 70 soldiers who operate and maintain radars, helicopters and aircraft in the Maldives, some of which are used for medical evacuations. Its navy also patrols surrounding waters. Last month, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu asked New Delhi to pull out its troops by March 15.

Experts believe that India has little room for maneuver in withdrawing its troops. From India’s perspective, terms like “withdrawal” are seen as losing face. Additionally, with the upcoming elections for the Modi administration, India is trying to provide vague statements to minimize diplomatic setbacks, Lin Minwang, deputy director at the Center for South Asian Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

From an international moral perspective, India does not have sufficient reasons to refuse the request, Lin pointed out. After all, Maldives is a sovereign country, and if a sovereign country does not welcome Indian troops, India needs to respect the Maldives’ sovereignty.

However, even as the issue of Indian military personnel drags on, a new controversy began over a video purportedly showing Indian Coast Guard (ICG) personnel boarding Maldivian fishing vessels within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Maldives.

The Maldives government says it has asked for clarification of why Indian coast guard personnel boarded the fishing vessels earlier this week without consultation, AP reported on Saturday.

Essentially, the conflict between India and Maldives stems from India’s desire to maintain its hegemony in the South Asian region, experts said.