Text: June
Edit|Lonely drifting dreamer
As of May 10 this year, India has withdrawn all Indian troops stationed in the Maldives, and at the same time, a delegation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army visited the Maldives, and China and Malaysia also signed a security agreement.
However, the Maldives has finally straightened its back, as an island country in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives has many islands, is a famous world tourist destination, although the land area is only more than 110,000 square kilometers of territorial waters, but because of the special geographical location, it has attracted the attention of the international community.
It is 600 kilometers away from the Indian island of Lakdiv Nondah to the north, more than 660 kilometers from Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, and 550 kilometers from the British territory of Chagos Archipelago to the south, so geopolitically and strategically speaking, the Maldives is geopolitically and strategically sensitive.
But as an independent country, why does the Maldives have Indian troops? This has to talk about the historical relationship between the two countries.
The Maldives is the smallest country in South Asia, and India was a former colony, after independence in 1965, India was the first country to recognize it and establish diplomatic relations with it, the two sides have maintained good diplomatic relations, there is a lot of cooperation, and India has also provided some economic assistance to the Maldives.
However, India has always regarded small neighboring countries as its "sphere of influence", and in order to improve its voice in South Asia, India has always wanted to exercise deeper control over the Maldives.
It wasn't until 1988 that India finally waited for a great opportunity, when the Maldives was in turmoil, although the number was small and the scale was small, but the weak defense force made the then president very afraid, so he asked for help from neighboring India.
India immediately sent 1,600 paratroopers to the capital city of the Maldives to help quell the unrest, and since then the two countries have become closer and have begun the history of India's military presence in the country, with President Gayoom almost completely moving closer to India during his 30-year tenure.
After Gayoom stepped down and Saleh came to power, he still maintained close diplomatic relations with India, pursued an "India First" policy, and deepened security cooperation with India.
For example, in 2021, the Mardav Defense Force said that there were about 75 Indian personnel stationed in the army, who were responsible for the maintenance of 2 helicopters and 1 small aircraft, and in 2023, India provided 1 patrol ship and a landing craft to the Maldives.
This series of actions has aroused dissatisfaction and concern among the Maldivian people against the "pro-Indian" government, such as the transfer of a coast guard to the management of India, and the fact that Indian warships can enter and leave the country's territorial waters and exclusive maritime zone without Maldaf's consent, which has seriously damaged the sovereignty and interests of the Maldives.
The Maldives is facing many complex situations, and it is also aggrieved by India's suppression of the domestic economy, but the Maldives depends on India for many basic needs and owes huge debts.
During the presidential campaign, Muiz promised the people that he would expel all the troops stationed in the country to safeguard the country's sovereignty, and his promise won the hearts of the public and finally succeeded in the presidency.
As soon as he came to power, he demanded that India withdraw all Maldives troops by May 10, 2024, with the first batch returning to India in March, and as of May 7, the second group of 51 people and the third group of 27 people withdrew on the 10th.
India spat out sour water on this, saying that because of the pro-China attitude of the new president and China's support for the Maldives, the other side has moved closer to China.
In fact, in the past decade, the relationship between the Maldives and China has indeed become closer, and China is a big customer of Maldives tourism.
Muiz's visit to China in January this year was an important turning point in China-Malaysia relations, with the two sides signing a whopping 20 agreements, including infrastructure, health and other fields.
In response to the accusations of "pro-China", Muiz said that the government will determine its foreign policy according to its own interests, and hopes to cooperate with all countries, including China and India, and is unwilling to get involved in geopolitical competition between major powers.
Muiz is undoubtedly wise, as a small country, a neutral foreign policy is the foundation of its existence, but the Indian media has commented on the relationship between China and Malaysia, and India is wary of China's influence in the Indian Ocean.
With China's gradual rise, not only in the international community, but also in neighboring countries, and with Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Maldives have signed cooperation agreements, which is bound to pose a potential threat to India.
In March this year, the PLA delegation visited the Maldives and Sri Lanka respectively, which is indeed of great significance to India.
This comes at a time when India is withdrawing its troops from Malaysia, as India has been making small moves to launch a submarine into the waters of Sri Lanka's capital in February.
Because China once had Sri Lanka's permission, it was normal to park the research ship at the other side's dock, but India felt unbalanced when it learned about it.
Because he wants to regard these small neighboring countries as his "sphere of influence", he opposes them to make friends with China.
Although India withdrew the first batch of personnel, it vainly tried to steal the beams and replace the pillars, and wanted to replace a group of Indian civilian personnel to operate the aircraft, which was tantamount to maintaining the previous status quo in disguise.
However, Muiz has a tough attitude, and the Chinese People's Liberation Army's visit to the Maldives, India knows that it has no power to return to the sky, but it is still angry, and wants to increase its troops on the island only more than 100 kilometers away from the Maldives, and strengthen the surveillance of the Maldives.
In addition, India has tightened its policy of exporting daily necessities to Malaysia, which is nothing more than trying to choke the other party's neck.
From the perspective of the Maldives government, safeguarding national sovereignty is a matter of course, and cooperation with China is the general trend. The previous government's policy of "pro-India and Far China" did not bring more benefits to the people at home.
The quality and efficiency of the housing and bridges that India has helped build are difficult to describe, but cooperation with the Chinese people is different, because years of cooperation with many developing countries have proved that the Chinese have achieved a win-win situation on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.
In the early years, China and Malaysia cooperated on some projects, such as the Huimin Housing Project, the Friendship Bridge, etc., and now with the policies of the new leader, China will continue to deepen the cooperation between the two sides.
Hello, hello, hello everyone, don't bully people, the new India of India, can make friends like China, and today's Maldives can be said to have played the right move. What do you think?
Information sources:
North Evening Online: India's defense break this time has nothing to do with China
https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1783136997704259787&wfr=spider&for=pc
Video: Back in history: The 1988 civil strife in the Maldives gave India the http://js.ifeng.com/c/8WgYDMAKy4C opportunity to take control of South Asia
Xinmin Evening News: What should India be concerned about when our military delegation visits three South Asian countries?
https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1793463674276022987&wfr=spider&for=pc
Luzhong Morning News: "Overwhelming victory"! China: We respect the choice of the Maldivian people
https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1797091610146796598&wfr=spider&for=pc
[Disclaimer]
The process and pictures described in the article are all from the Internet, and this article aims to advocate positive social energy and no vulgar and other bad guidance. If it involves copyright or character infringement issues, please contact us in time, and we will delete the content as soon as possible! If there is any doubt about the incident, it will be deleted or changed immediately after contact.