India and the Maldives need to move ahead
Maldivian Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon's recent visit to India, coming just five weeks after Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj travelled to Male, indicates a joint determination by New Delhi and Male to recast their bilateral, which has suffered significantly in recent years. That this is happening at a time when the Maldives is going through a major political crisis speaks volumes. On September 28, there was an assassination attempt on President Abdullah Yameen; he escaped unhurt but his wife and others were injured. Soon after, a bomb and a large cache of weapons were discovered near the presidential palace. On November 4, a month-long Emergency was imposed but lifted a week later following widespread international concern over the suspension of civil liberties. In between, Mr Ahmed Adeeb, who was Vice President, was arrested and impeached. He stands accused of conspiring to assassinate the President. Mr Adeeb is the second Vice President to have been removed from office in the last six months. His predecessor, Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, was also accused of plotting a coup and impeached in July. While investigations into the attacks on the President continue, there has also been increasing apprehension that some elements within the Maldivian Government may be using the issue of ‘security concerns' to derail the country's nascent democratic process. The Maldives had its first free and fair election in 2008, that ended the three decade long rule of Abdul Gayoom — Ms Maumoon’s father. But Mr Mohamed Nasheed, who succeeded him, was ousted from office in 2012. The 2013 presidential election brought in President Yameen, Mr Gayoom's half-brother, to power, amidst growing unease over the squeezing of the democratic space in the Maldives. Mr Nasheed was thrown behind bars earlier this year, following what most independent observers consider to be a politically-motivated trial.
India has had a tough time responding to the Maldivian political crisis. While not wanting to be seen as a partisan force or as a big brother intervening in the domestic affairs of a sovereign nation, it also couldn't sit idle as a neighbouring nation slipped into chaos. The political upheaval in Male coincided with China finding increased favour in the Maldives, at India's cost. The 2012 GMR crisis marked a low in bilateral ties — not just because it was the biggest Indian project in the Maldives but as other large Indian investments had also suffered similarly. And even though in the three years since then, both sides have sought to improve the situation, it hasn't been easy. Only last year, President Yameen said in a national address that his, “Government's thinking is changing” and that “the multi-million dollar investments that we need... will come through this (China’s) door”. This year, the Yameen Government passed a controversial law that many fear will allow China to purchase Maldivian land and use it for strategic purposes. During her recent trip to Delhi, Foreign Minister Maumoon assured her counterpart here that the India-Maldives relationship had “sufficient depth” and “would not be shaken by Chinese investors”. She also highlighted her Government's ‘India First' policy. It is to be seen how the assurance plays out on the ground.