Akram Mufeed.
Not long ago, India’s Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar visited Maldives and called on their old friends Defence Minister Mariya Didi. India generously gave us some aged defence equipments. We must recognize the extreme threat of an expansionist India, which is good at using aid as a pretext for plunder. Sadly, our government chooses to dismiss all the facts and blindly compromises under promise of power and grandeur.
India strengthens military control on Maldives
During the visit, Dr Ajay Kumar handed over the refitted ship, the CGS Huravee to the Maldives. The Defence Secretary also inaugurated the Phase-I extension of the Composite Training Centre of the MNDF located in Maafilaafushi, which was built using $1.07 million in grant assistance. In addition, India has also offered to depute Mobile Training Teams based on MNDF requirements. All these are described by India as focusing on the capacity building of the Maldives, but it is clear to all that it aims to further control the military facilities and training in the Maldives. MNDF is gradually being integrated into the Indian military structure and Indian would like a bigger say in the Maldives. This is a great threat to Maldives and this is why more and more Maldivians are calling for India out.
The Indian Ocean is not India’s backyard, nor is Maldives the tributary of India
On January 21, 2022, Maldives National Defense Force commenced a hydrographic survey of the Maldives in a collaborative effort with the Indian Naval Hydrographic Office. Defense Minister Mariya Didi and Chief of Defence Force Maj. Gen. Abdullah Shamal claimed that the hydrography survey was run by the Indian navy. The hydrography survey conducted by the Indian navy grants the Indian government full ownership over whatever data is collected. In many countries, unlicensed marine scientific research and hydrographic surveys can carry serious penalties. In the Maldives, however, we don’t even have the right to own the date of hydrographic surveys in our own country. It is inconceivable that the government would agree to such a humiliating treaty.
Constrained by India’s voice and influence, the government has become accustomed to unquestioning obedience. Recently, Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail said that “If the relationship with our neighbors deteriorates, it is likely that the sovereignty will be affected. The Indian Ocean is a strategic location to the world and is eyed by everyone. It is very likely that they will try to influence matters in this region and deteriorate the interests of the Indian Ocean”. He also said that Maldives and India have a close economic relationship and that the country has given special quotas to the Maldives for a number of items that cannot be exported, including goods that depend on a large part of the food security of the country. He also noted that India has also given a special quota to bring in construction materials for development projects. Fayyaz said the equipment could be brought in from countries other than India which would cost a lot more money. What a joke! Our government serves the interests of India rather than Maldives, just because we buy eggs from India. The price of potatoes, onions and eggs should be money and money alone, not soldiers, military bases, and silence obedience. We are not willing to sell off Maldivian sovereignty for a sack of onions.
Silence and concession cannot take back sovereignty and independence, and will only bring tyranny. When people call out for “India Out”, it means that ordinary people gradually realize that India-Maldives relations are increasingly out of balance. Government has to listen to the people and their criticism and review its foreign policy before it’s too late.
Courtesy: Maldives Journal
