India-Maldives

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Maldives and India signed a cyber security agreement with India as both sides affirmed bilateral will to strengthen ties to take on “transnational crimes and terrorism” in the Indian Ocean region.

• India gifts naval vessel and vehicles for Maldives National Defence Force.
• Both sides exchanged agreements covering areas like women and child development, disaster management, cyber security and infrastructure development.
• To strengthen Maldivian maritime capacity, India has announced the gifting of a second landing assault craft to the Maldives National Defence Force.

Significance of India-Maldives bilateral relationships

• India’s Neighborhood First Policy: India announced a financial assistance package of $1.4 billion for the Maldives in the form of budgetary support, currency swap agreements and concessional lines of credit to fulfill socio-economic development programmes.
• Connectivity: The two nations emphasized connectivity through the establishment of enabling infrastructure that would promote the exchange of goods and services, information, ideas, culture and people.
• Direct Cargo Ferry Service: It will be run between India and Maldives.
• Bilateral relations: Maldivian students attend educational institutions in India and patients come to India for healthcare, aided by a liberal visa-free regime extended by India.
• Quotas for Supply of Essential Commodities: Given the geographical limitations imposed on the Maldives, India has exempted the nation from export curbs on essential commodities.
• Financial Aid: At the peak of the continuing COVID-19 disruption, a financial aid of 250 million USD will be provided to Maldives by India.

History

• Operation Cactus: In 1988, in response to a request from the Maldives, India activated Operation Cactus to deploy its military and ensure regime continuity in Male.
• Disaster Management: The Government of India has provided large-scale assistance to the Maldives in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and during the 2014 Male water crisis.

Challenges

• Political Instability: India’s major concern has been the impact of political instability in the neighbourhood on its security and development.
• Radicalisation: In the past decade or so, the number of Maldivians drawn towards terrorist groups like the Islamic State (IS) and Pakistan-based madrassas and jihadist groups has been increasing.
• This gives rise to the possibility of Pakistan based terror groups using remote Maldivian islands as a launch pad for terror attacks against India and Indian interests.
• China Angle: China’s strategic footprint in India’s neighbourhood has increased. The Maldives has emerged as an important ‘pearl’ in China’s “String of Pearls” construct in South Asia.
• Given the uncertain dynamics of Sino-Indian relations, China’s strategic presence in the Maldives remains a concern.
• Also, the Maldives have started using the China card to bargain with India.