Context: The article discusses the recent commissioning of the Indian grant-in-aid UTF (Uthuru Thila Falhu- Island) Harbour Project, the coastal surveillance radar system, in the Maldives. The project is a significant milestone in the growing defence ties between the two countries.

About UTF Project

• The UTF project was announced during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit in February 2021.

• It is among the biggest Indian grant-in-aid projects in the Maldives.

• It is aimed at developing a maintenance and repair hub for naval vessels and will help the Maldives become self-sufficient.

Importance of the Project

• The project marked a major step in growing defence cooperation between India and Maldives.

• The facility will strengthen the capability of the Maldivian Coast Guard and facilitate regional humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts.

Controversy Surrounding the Project

• There were allegations that the project was a cover for Indian military presence in the Maldives.

• An “India Out” campaign was launched in the island nation backed by its opposition leader Abdulla Yameen.

• Maldives President Ibrahim Solih banned anti-India protests as a threat to national security.

Defence Cooperation and Other Projects

• India has gifted a Dornier aircraft and a patrol vessel to Maldives in the past.

• India has provided 24 vehicles and a naval boat and will build police facilities on 61 islands in the country.

• The joint statement released by India and Maldives after Defence Minister Singh’s visit highlighted ongoing defence cooperation between the two neighbours.

• The countries have agreed to explore additional avenues for cooperation, including in areas of defence trade, capacity building, and joint exercises.

• Both the countries are working closely to address challenges, including those on maritime security, terrorism, radicalisation, piracy, trafficking, organised crime, and natural disasters.

• India has financed the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP), a $500 million project, to build a 6.74 km bridge and causeway linking the capital of Maldives, Male, with neighboring islands.

India-Maldives Relations: A backgrounder

• India and Maldives are neighbors sharing a maritime border.

• Both nations established diplomatic relations after the independence of Maldives from British rule in 1966.

• India was one of the first nations to recognize Maldives’ independence.

• Since then, India and Maldives have developed close strategic, military, economic and cultural relations.

• Maldivians generally regard Indians and India as a friend and trusted neighbor in the field economic, social and political.

Causes for the anti-India sentiments

• Political instability: The anti-India sentiment is nearly a decade old and can be traced back to when Abdulla Gayoom became president in 2013. He used anti-India sentiments for his political mobilization and started tilting China.

• Controversy over helicopter gift: Two Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters (ALF) that were given by India to the Maldives for ocean search-and-rescue operations. Opposition tried to portray this as military presence in the country.

• Confidential agreements: Most agreements being signed between the Ibrahim Solih government and India are backdoor and has not been publicly discussed in the Maldives Parliament.

• Alleged interference in domestic politics: India being a big neighbour, there are unsubstantiated perceptions & allegations on Indian Diplomats stationed in Maldives interfering in Domestic affairs.

Restoration of ties

• Ibrahim Mohamed Solih who became President in 2018 has restored Maldives close ties with India.

Major irritants in ties

• Political Instability: India’s major concern has been the impact of political instability in the neighborhood on its security and development.

• Increasing radicalization: In the past decade or so, the number of Maldivians drawn towards terrorist groups like the Islamic State (IS) and Pakistan-based jihadist groups has been increasing.

• Inclination towards terror: Radicalism in the island nation has increased the possibility of Pakistan based terror groups using remote Maldivian islands as a launch pad for terror attacks against India and Indian interests.

• Chinese affinity: China’s strategic footprint in India’s neighborhood has increased. The Maldives has emerged as an important ‘pearl’ in China’s “String of Pearls” construct in South Asia.

Recent gestures by India

[1] 2014 Male drinking-water crisis

• In the wake of a drinking water crisis in Malé in December 2014, following collapse of the island’s only water treatment plant, Maldives urged India for immediate help.

• India came to rescue by sending its heavy lift transporters like C-17 Globemaster III, Il-76 carrying bottled water.

[2] 2020 Covid-19 crisis

• During the COVID-19 crisis of 2020, India extended help to Maldives in the form of financial, material and logistical support.

• Also, the IAF airlifted 6.2 tonnes of essential medicines and hospital consumables to Maldives, as part of ‘Operation Sanjeevani’.

[3] Greater Male Connectivity Project

• India has recently announced the signing of a $500-million infrastructure project for the construction of the Greater Malé Connectivity Project (GMCP).

• This infrastructure project, the largest-ever by India in the Maldives, involves the construction of a 6.74-km-long bridge and causeway link.

Maldives’ significance for India

• Increasing maritime cooperation: As maritime economic activity in the Indian Ocean has risen dramatically in recent decades, the geopolitical competition too in the Indian Ocean has intensified.

• Toll Gate in Indian Ocean: It is situated at the hub of commercial sea-lanes running through the Indian Ocean. More than 97% of India’s international trade by volume and 75% by value passes through the region.

• Naval cooperation: Maldives is an important partner in India’s role as the net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region.

• Important SAARC member: Besides, Maldives is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC).

• People To People Contact: There is a significant population of Maldivian students in India. They are aided by a liberal visa-free regime extended by India. There is also medical tourism.

• Major destination for Tourists: Tourism is the mainstay of the Maldivian economy. The country is now a major tourist destination for some Indians and a job destination for others.

Road Ahead

• India continues to be an important partner of the Maldives. India must not grow complacent over its position and must remain attentive to the developments in the Maldives.

• India must play a key role within Indo-Pacific security space to ensure regional security in South Asia and surrounding maritime boundaries.

• At present, the ‘India Out’ campaign has support from a limited population but this cannot be taken for granted by the Indian government.