India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the Maldives from May 1 to 3 and held talks with the Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid and Defence Minister Mariya Didi. Singh handed over a Fast Patrol Vessel and a Landing Craft Assault ship to the Maldives National Defence Forces (MNDF) and his Maldivian counterpart Didi laid the foundation of a harbour at Sifavaru for the coast guard of Maldives. India and the Maldives had signed a pact in 2021 to develop the coast guard harbour. India had also extended a $50 million Line of Credit at that time.

The India-Maldives defence cooperation dates back to 1988 when India conducted Operation Cactus to thwart a coup attempt against the Maldivian government. The relations are on the upswing since 2018 under President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. The current boost in defence engagements between New Delhi and Male comes at a time when China is looking to increase its presence in the Indian Ocean Region by way of warship deployments and sending surveillance ships.

Defence cooperation has emerged as a major area of engagement for India with the countries in the Indo-Pacific Region primarily as a counterbalance to China’s increasing strategic footprint. However India’s vision for the Indo-Pacific Region is not limited to defence cooperation but it is a combination of hard power and soft power diplomacy to address traditional and non-traditional security threats. While containment of China has been the primary aim, India has been mindful to shape its response by employing a holistic approach. It involves diversified engagements in the areas like defence cooperation, economic cooperation, addressing shared concerns and capacity building.

‘Neighbourhood First’ policy has been the basis of India’s engagements with the Maldives where, in addition to strategic engagement, socio-economic development and strengthening of democratic institutions are also major areas of focus. Maldives is also a part of the SAGAR doctrine (Security And Growth for All in the Region) formulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that outlines India’s policy of cooperation with the countries in the Indian Ocean Region. For its part, the Maldives follows ‘India First’ policy acknowledging India as the closest friend, trusted ally and the first responder during the time of crises and disasters.

Specific to the Maldives’ requirements, India has strong presence in the areas of climate change, infrastructure development and capacity building. Maldives is one of most vulnerable countries in the world exposed to the effects of climate change. Being the lowest-lying country in the world, the sea-level rise due to the global climate change could result in 80% of the Maldives becoming uninhabitable by 2050, according to the NASA and the US Geological Survey.

India is working with the Maldives to reduce dependence on oil imports. In April 2022, India and the Maldives proposed two Memoranda of Understanding – on energy cooperation and on transmission interconnection under One Sun, One World, One Grid. Under the transmission interconnection, India plans to transfer renewable energy to the Maldives. The Maldives plans to achieve net zero emission target by 2030. India and the Maldives could further explore their cooperation in this area as climate change is a shared concern and poses a threat to the Maldives’ existence in the near future.  

India has positioned itself as a key partner of the Maldives in infrastructure development. In 2021, the Maldives government signed an agreement with Mumbai-based company AFCONS for construction of Greater Malé Connectivity Project. This 6.74 km-long bridge and causeway link is the largest civilian infrastructure project in the Maldives which is funded by India through $400 million Line of Credit and $100 million grant. Along with this connectivity project, India is engaged in the Hanimaadhoo International Airport Expansion Project in the northern part of the Maldives.

India is also involved in training the Maldivian civil servants. The National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), an autonomous institution under Government of India in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs carries out capacity building programme for civil servants of the Maldives. During Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the Maldives in 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the NCGG and the Civil Services Commission of Maldives for training 1000 civil servants of the Maldives at the NCGG over the course of next five years. This capacity building programme is aimed at equipping the civil servants with skills and tools to design effective public services in an inter-dependent and complex world.

Maldives is strategically important for India not just as a neighbouring country but also as a part of the Indo-Pacific construct. India’s partnership with the Maldives is crucial for the stability of the Indian Ocean Region. Engagements with the Maldives reflect India’s approach to the Indo-Pacific Region which encompasses cooperation in strategic and economic areas but more importantly prioritising mutual benefits from the engagements.

Mr. Niranjan Marjani is a political analyst and researcher based in Vadodara, India.