NEW DELHI: India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar leaves Friday on his first trip to the neighbouring Maldives since Male expelled dozens of Indian soldiers and shifted to become closer to China.
The foreign ministry said in a statement that the Indian Ocean archipelago was a key part of New Delhi’s “neighbourhood first” and maritime security policies.
Known as a luxury holiday destination with pristine white beaches and secluded resorts, the atoll nation has also become a geopolitical hotspot in the Indian Ocean.
India is suspicious of China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean, including in Sri Lanka as well as the Maldives, which signed a military assistance pact with Beijing in March.
That deal came as a garrison of Indian soldiers, who had been stationed in the upscale holiday destination to assist with maritime patrols, was ordered by pro-Beijing President Mohamed Muizzu to leave.
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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.
India’s government has traditionally considered the Maldives, home to around half a million people, to be within its sphere of influence.
In June, Maldives’ pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu visited New Delhi for Narendra Modi’s inauguration as prime minister.
“Maldives is India’s key maritime neighbour and an important partner in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy,” the foreign ministry said.
It said Jaishankar’s two-day visit was “aimed at strengthening the close partnership”.
Muizzu’s election successes have hinged on a sustained campaign against India’s outsized political and economic clout in the Maldives.
New Delhi has a history of entanglements with affairs in Maldives, including the deployment of soldiers to thwart a 1988 coup attempt.
Its influence has been a periodic source of resentment in the Muslim-majority nation.
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