On the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, the new head of the Maldives, Moizou, met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After the meeting, Muizu announced that India** had agreed to withdraw its troops from the Maldives. Despite the small number of troops withdrawn, this decision has had an impact on the situation in the Indian Ocean region, and at the same time has triggered a geopolitical game between China and India. The Maldives, an island nation located in the northern part of the Indian Ocean and a key location in international shipping lanes, has been one of the targets of India's efforts to expand its influence. However, this move by the Maldives** is undoubtedly a heavy blow to India, and it also hints at a certain disadvantage in the regional competition.
For many years, the Maldives has made maintaining friendly relations with India a diplomatic priority. However, in recent years, the foreign policy of the Maldives has changed. On the one hand, India's continuous interference in the internal affairs of the Maldives through economic and military means has aroused dissatisfaction among the Maldivian people. On the other hand, with the reduction of security pressure and the need for economic development in the Maldives, the Maldives began to strengthen cooperation with China and joined the "Belt and Road" initiative. These changes have led to a reduction in the Maldives' dependence on India and a preference for diversified partners.
Despite the limited size of India's military presence in the Maldives, its geographical advantages have led India to try to strengthen its influence in the Maldives through economic and military means. For example, India has a small army that operates radar stations and a small number of aircraft. However, India's military modernization and long-range reconnaissance capabilities in recent years have made the garrison relatively less important. However, the withdrawal request of the Maldives** still dealt a certain blow to India, hinting at a certain disadvantage in the regional competition.
The Maldives' foreign policy has undergone several shifts in recent years. In 2013, the Maldives joined the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and has strengthened cooperation with China in the fields of tourism and infrastructure. However, under pressure from certain countries, the Maldives experienced a political crisis, after which it turned to the West and India, re-adopted the diplomatic tradition of "India First" and responded to the "Indo-Pacific Strategy" of the United States. However, during this period, the Maldives' economy was in trouble, with rising debt and no major breakthrough in economic development. In the Maldives, the newly elected Moizu expressed his willingness to abandon the "India First" strategy and advocated for cooperation with a number of countries. The request for this withdrawal can be seen as part of Muizu**'s implementation of his equidistant foreign policy.
From China's point of view, the coming to power of Muyizu is beneficial to the stability of Sino-Indian relations and the construction of the "Belt and Road". Moreover, India has long sought to bring the Maldives back into its sphere of influence in order to expand its influence in the Indian Ocean region. However, the Maldives is not alone in its current reluctance to continue its "India First" foreign policy, and countries such as Sri Lanka have failed to abandon cooperation with China as India would like. This situation suggests that the reason for the change in foreign policy of these countries is motivated by the intrinsic imperatives of economic and social development, rather than by India's hegemonic behavior. Therefore, it will not be easy for India to pull the Maldives back to its side. The Maldives' move to demand the withdrawal of troops has already illustrated this.
Summary: The Maldives** demanded the withdrawal of Indian soldiers stationed in the country, which had an impact on the situation in the Indian Ocean region and triggered a geopolitical game between China and India. The Maldives' foreign policy shift and India's waning influence in the Maldives are important reasons for this situation. From China's point of view, the new coming to power in the Maldives will be conducive to the stability of China-India relations and the construction of the "Belt and Road". However, it will not be easy for India to try to bring back the Maldives to expand its influence in the Indian Ocean region, as the foreign policy shift of these countries is more motivated by the intrinsic need of economic development.