Table of Contents
Why in News
- India on 13 July handed over outdoor fitness equipment for 61 islands across the Maldives under a cash grant of 8 million US dollars.
- The equipment was formally handed over by Indian High Commissioner to Maldives Sunjay Sudhir in a ceremony at Male.
Maldives
- The Maldives is a small island nation in South Asia, situated in the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean.
- The Maldives consists of 1,192 coral islands grouped in a double chain of 26 atolls, that stretch along a length of 871 kilometers north-south direction.
- The chain of 26 atolls stretches from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to Addu Atoll in the south to the equator.
Importance of Maldives for India
- Energy Lanes
- Rising Chinese Influence
- Indian diaspora
- Energy Lanes
- Strategically located in the Indian Ocean, Maldives archipelago comprising 1,200 coral islands lies next to key shipping lanes.
- These shipping lanes ensures uninterrupted supply of energy to India.
Rising Chinese Influence
- China’s massive economic presence in Maldives is a major concern for India. With the country now said to owe 70% of its external aid to China, many believe that Yameen has done to Maldives what Rajapaksa did to Sri Lanka.
Rising Chinese Influence
- China started to send naval ships to Indian Ocean roughly 10 years ago and right up to Gulf of Aden in the name of antipiracy operations.
- Maldives’ significance has steadily grown and now it’s at the heart of international geopolitics.
Indian Diaspora
- India and Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious links.
- There are 25,000 Indian nationals living in Maldives (second largest expatriate community). Indian tourists also account for close to 6% of tourists Maldives receives every year.
India-Maldives Relations
- India was among the first to recognize Maldives after its independence in 1965 and to establish diplomatic relations with the country.
- Since then, India and Maldives have developed close strategic, military, economic and cultural relations.
- India continues to contribute to maintaining security on the island nation
Operation Cactus
- In November 1988, 80 armed militants of the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam along with allies infiltrated the country.
- The plot was believed to be a coup attempt by a Maldivian businessman, politician opposed to the regime of the President of Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
- Gayoom asked for military aid from India on 3 November.
Operation Cactus
- The then-Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi ordered 1,600 troops to aid the Maldivian government.
- In a military operation codenamed “Operation Cactus,” Indian forces arrived within 12 hours of the request for aid being made.
- Military squashed the coup attempt and achieved full control of the country within hours.
2014 Male drinking-water crisis
- In the wake of a drinking water crisis in Malé’ on 4 December 2014, following collapse of the island’s only water treatment plant.
- Maldives urged India for immediate help.
- 2014 Male drinking-water crisis India came to rescue by sending its heavy lift transporters like C-17 Globemaster III, Il-76 carrying bottled water.
- The navy also sent her ships like INS Sukanya, INS Deepak and others which can produce fresh water using their onboard desalination plants.
Maldives-India Relation under Yameen
- During the five years that Yameen was President, the relationship between the Maldives and India soured because of Yameen’s pro-China stance.
- In March 2015, India cancelled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Male, as the political atmosphere was not considered to be conducive.
Maldives-India Relation under Yameen
- Under Yameen, the Maldives refused India’s invitation to its biennial eight-day naval exercise, Milan.
Restoration of Good Relations
- After Yameen’s tenure ended, relations between India and Maldives have improved.
- India was one of the first countries to congratulate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih after provisional results of the Maldives’s presidential elections were released in 2018.
Modi and Solih
- After being sworn in as Prime Minister for the second time, Modi made his first overseas visit to the Maldives.
- The two leaders reiterated their strong commitment to further strengthening and invigorating the traditionally strong and friendly relations between India and the Maldives
Modi and Solih
- Prime Minister Modi was conferred with the Maldives’ highest honour “Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen” during his visit.
Ekuverin 2019
- India-Maldives joint military exercise ‘Ex-EKUVERIN – 2019’ was successfully completed in October 2019, in Pune.
- The 14 day Joint Training that commenced on October 7, included joint training of the contingents in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations in semi-urban environment.
- Exercise EKUVERIN-2019 was very successful in increasing the bonhomie and camaraderie amongst both the participating nations
Addu Tourism Zone
- India and Maldives signed 5 MoUs, in February 2020, for establishing the Addu Tourism zone in five islands of Addu atoll at a cost of 2.49 million USD.
- The tourism zone is expected to generate local employment and enhance eco-tourism opportunities in Addu.
Operation Sanjeevani
- In April 2020, amid lockdown due to Covd-19 pandemic, Indian Air Force (IAF) airlifts around 6.2 tonnes of essential medicines and hospital consumables onboard C-130 aircraft from India to Male.
- IAF launched `Operation Sanjeevani’ and with the help of the Indian Army medicines were lifted from different airports across the country and then were flown to the Maldives.
- India and Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, reli . religious and commercial links.
- Good and harmonious relations of India and Maldives are important for economic development for both the countries and peace of Indian Ocean region.
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