Maldives Asks India To Withdraw Military Presence

Maldives is playing a different card and this may annoy neighboring country India. The government has asked Indian counterpart to withdraw military helicopters and personnel following expiry of an agreement made between the two nations.

The current Abdulla Yameen’s government in the Indian Ocean island chain is backed by China and agreement with India has already expired last June.

China has been lately building roads, bridges and a bigger airport in Maldives. India on its part has been the prime provider of military and civilian aid to the country for decades.

Earlier this year India opposed Yameen`s crackdown on political rivals and rivals called Indian government to intervene. This created worries for the Maldivian government which had imposition an emergency too.

Amid such political crisis the Yameen reach out to like China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, but chose not to include India.

Ahead of Yameen’s announcement of emergency China warned against military intervention cautioning such step could complicate the situation. It is believed the advice was aimed to Indian policy as exiled former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed has appealed several times to send “envoy, backed by its military” to release political leaders and judges from the jail.

India has always tried to push back the influence of China in Maldives over the past several decades, but Yameen, after coming to power in 2013, has drawn close to China and Saudi Arabia, which resulted with investment by both the countries.

Nasheed stepped down in 2012 and since then the Indian Ocean island chain country of around 400,000 people is experiencing political unrest.