Maldives new leader vows to evict Indian troops
MALE, Nov 18 (AFP) President Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives vowed on Friday to expel Indian troops deployed in the strategically located archipelago, in his first speech to the nation after being sworn into power.
Muizzu, 45, did not name India -- but promised he would deliver on his election promises, key among them a pledge to evict some 50 to 75 Indian security personnel.
"The country will not have any foreign military personnel in the Maldives," Muizzu said after being sworn in before Chief Justice Ahmed Adnan at a televised, open-air ceremony.
“When it comes to our security, I will draw a red line. The Maldives will respect the red lines of other countries too.”
Earlier this week, Muizzu told AFP that his intention was not to upend the regional balance by replacing the Indian military with Chinese troops.
Muizzu, a former mayor of the capital Male and a construction minister for seven years, had previously promised to cultivate "strong ties" with China, a key financial backer of his nation.
The country's eighth president since independence from Britain in 1965, Muizzu was elected in September as a proxy for a pro-China predecessor who is jailed on corruption charges.
High-level representatives from both China and India were in attendance, as well as from Bangladesh, the Seychelles and Sri Lanka.
Primarily known as one of the most expensive holiday destinations in South Asia, with pristine white beaches and secluded resorts, the Maldives has also become a geopolitical hotspot. Global east-west shipping lanes pass the nation's chain of 1,192 tiny coral islands, stretching around 800 kilometres (500 miles) across the equator.
China was represented at the ceremony by State Councillor Shen Yiqin as a special envoy of President Xi Jinping, who visited the Maldives in 2014 when Muizzu's mentor Abdulla Yameen was president. Maldivian media had reported for days that India's President Droupadi Murmu was expected to attend, but New Delhi announced sending Minister of Earth Sciences Kiren Rijiju instead.
Maldives is too small to be entangled in geopolitical rivalry," Muizzu said in his interview with AFP. "I am not very much interested in engaging the Maldivian foreign policy in this."