Predecessor operated on orders of a ‘foreign ambassador’: Maldivian President Muizzu

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, who has made several moves to reduce his country’s dependence on India, has alleged that his predecessor Ibrahim Mohamed Solih operated on the orders of a “foreign ambassador” though he stopped short of naming any country.

Muizzu, who is widely perceived in New Delhi as pro-China, made the remarks during an interview with state-run Public Service Media (PSM) on Thursday. His remarks, coming on the back of his demand for the withdrawal of Indian military personnel who operate three aircraft in the Maldives, were perceived as an apparent reference to India.

Solih, who was president during 2018-23, operated on orders from a foreign ambassador and this resulted in “extensive damage”, Muizzu said during the interview while responding to a question on the opposition’s criticism of his government’s decision to procure military drones from Turkiye.

Without specifying which country he was referring to, Solih added: “We had lost independence in all sense of the word, including economically. After having done all this, they would naturally not accept our efforts to remedy all this and put the country on a track that the Maldivian people want….”

Solih’s government had implemented an “India First” policy and the Maldives was one of the main beneficiaries of India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy. New Delhi poured billions of dollars into development and infrastructure projects during Solih’s tenure.

Muizzu campaigned during last year’s presidential election on the promise of expelling some 80 Indian military personnel deployed in the Maldives to operate two helicopters and an aircraft that are mainly used for humanitarian assistance and medical evacuation operations. India recently replaced the military crews operating one helicopter with civilian personnel and the remainder are set to be pulled out by May.

Solih’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Muizzu said in the interview, had a supermajority in Parliament but failed to protect the independence of the Maldives and left it in the “hands of a foreign country”. He didn’t name the country he was referring to.

Muizzu said he believes in transparency but “military secrets” such as the cost of the drones acquired by the Maldives are not disclosed by any country. “In such matters that are crucial to national security, I am heavily reliant on counsel from our chief of defence force and our generals,” he said.

The Indian side has not publicly criticised Muizzu’s pro-China tilt though policy-makers in New Delhi are warily watching the growing proximity between Male and Beijing on issues ranging from trade to security.

While the People’s National Congress (PNC) administration accuses the former administration of getting overly dependent on India, the MDP accuses the incumbent administration of ruining age-old ties with India and fostering closer ties with China. A Chinese surveillance vessel recently visited the Maldives for replenishment and earlier this month, China and the Maldives signed an agreement for the free supply of non-lethal military equipment by Beijing.