Explained | Tensions in India-Maldives relations in recent times

The relationship between India and Maldives has nosedived after some ministers of the island nation took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the photos shared during his two-day visit to Lakshadweep, to promote the union territory off the coast of Kerala as a tourist destination.

India's relations with the Maldives, already on choppy waters, nosedived after three deputy ministers of the island nation made disparaging remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Lakshadweep, promoting it as a tourist hotspot.

The Maldives government distanced itself from the comment and suspended three deputy ministers but the diplomatic row continues. Both India and Maldives have summoned the envoys to each other's nations in a tit-for-tat move.

Here's what the latest row is all about

Maldives government officials, one of them Mariyam Shiuna, reacted on X to Modi's posts on Lakshadweep where he urged Indians to embrace their adventurous side and tour the island. Of them, Shiuna launched a disparaging personal attack against the PM and also insinuated Israel's control over him. The post has since been deleted.

Screenshot of the now-deleted post of the Deputy Minister with the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Information and Art.

How the tensions began

The otherwise cordial relations of India and Maldives hit a roadblock after the People's National Congress leader Mohamed Muizzu came to power in Maldives in November 2023.

Muizzu was a candidate of the Progressive Congress, a coalition of his own People’s National Congress (PNC) along with People’s Party of Maldives (PPM) - incarcerated former president Abdullah Yameen Abdul Gayoom's party.

Yameen, led an 'India Out' campaign in the Maldives, setting a narrative against New Delhi. The campaign gained momentum in 2021 when India signed an agreement with the Ibrahim Mohamed Solih-led government to “develop, support and maintain” a harbour at Uthuru Thila Falhu naval base in the island nation.

After the Solih government was overthrown, the Maldives government, under the pesidency of Mohamed Muizzu, asked the Indian government to withdraw its troops from the island nation in December 2023. Moreover, the new Maldives government asked India to put a stop to conducting hydrographic surveys in the territorial waters of the Indian Ocean archipelago (the MoU facilitating cooperation in the field of hydrography was signed in 2019 when the Solih Government was in power).

The newly elected Maldivian government is against the former's 'India First' policy, so much so that the withdrawal of Indian troops was part of Muizzu's election manifesto.

Where things stand

Following the Maldives ministers' remarks, the Indian High Commission in Malé strongly raised the issue with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives Government and conveyed concerns over the comments made by certain ministers of the island nation.

Additionally, The Maldives envoy to India was summoned to the external affairs ministry over the matter. In a swift tit-for-tat move, Maldives also summoned the Indian envoy there.

The Maldives government has, however, asserted to the Indian High Commission that the ministers' comments do not reflect the views of the government and that Maldives considers India a key ally.

The China chapter

India's relation with Maldives has been going steadily downhill since the coming of the new government which is known to be pro-China.

Now, amid ongoing diplomatic row, President Muizzu is on a China visit. During the visit, Maldives and China will hold official talks and sign key agreements to enhance trade, professional development, and socioeconomic cooperation, the President's Office said.

Israel wades into the tiff

Amid the row over the deputy minister's remarks insinuating Israel's control over the PM, the nation's embassy in Delhi has lent quiet support, promoting Lakshadweep as a tourist destination. The Embassy of Israel in India shared images and videos capturing Lakshadweep's 'enchanting allure'.

The Maldives is India's key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and occupies a special place in the country's initiatives like SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the Modi government's Neighbourhood First Policy.

The Maldives' geographical closeness to India, barely 70 nautical miles from the island of Minicoy in Lakshadweep, and 300 nautical miles from the mainland's western coast, and its location at the hub of commercial sea lanes going through the Indian Ocean gives it significant strategic importance.