Tensions between the South Asian countries of India and Maldives have been on the rise ever since the change in the ruling party of Maldives after Mohamed Muizzu of the People’s National Congress took over as president in November last year, hitting rock bottom over the course of the past few months.

The main promise of Muizzu’s campaign was his ‘no India’ policy, aiming to decrease Indian influence on the country by reducing its dependence on the country for food, education, and healthcare, among other things. Despite the huge strategic relevance of Indian influence on the nation, Muizzu’s pro-China policies led him to his historic win in the elections. “We are not a country that is in the backyard of another country. We are an independent nation,” said Muizzu in a statement recently after his return from a state trip to Beijing, China.

The timeline of events that have added to the increasing rift between the two countries is as follows:

• November 17, 2023: Mohamed Muizzu wins elections to take over as the president of Maldives.
• January 4, 2024: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shares photos from his visit to Lakshadweep on his social media. The purpose of the visit was to promote tourism in the small island territory of India. 
• Three Maldivian Junior Politicians see this as an attempt to draw tourists away from their country. They react to his posts by calling him a “clown” and a “terrorist” among other things.
• January 8, 2024: Muzzu leaves for China for a state visit, acting upon his pro-China policy.
• On the same day, Indian ticket-booking site EaseMyTrip announces the suspension of all flight bookings from India to Maldives. 
• #BoycottMaldives goes viral in India.
• Maldives Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer called the officials’ remarks “unacceptable,” and said his country is committed to “fostering a positive and constructive dialogue with our partners.”
• Soon after, the Maldives government suspends all three ministers for their comments on Modi, stating that the comments did not in any way reflect national sentiment or government views on the matter. Maldives Tourism also “strongly condemns” the actions of the three junior ministers.
• January 12, 2024: Muizzu returns from China amidst all this unrest.
• January 14, 2024: Maldives orders India to remove its military troops from the archipelago by March 15. According to the Indian government, the troop, which consists of a small team of military officials, is stationed there to operate and maintain three maritime rescue and surveillance aircraft it donated to the country.

Ashlesha Bhagat ’26, a Computer Science major who is an international student from India, commented on this situation. “The events in Maldives and India have been building up for a long time with the change of political power. The previous President had an India-First policy; the current one wants to diversify Maldives’ foreign policy and is working towards that. In a way, what happened over social media was a tipping point and it will be very interesting to see how India-Maldives ties go from here. Not only does Maldives’ economy benefit from Indian tourists, but Indian airlines also have a lot of flights that run to Maldives. Depending on how the ties and the air clearance work, a lot of things might change. It would also be interesting to see how other countries play into the new foreign policy,” said Bhagat.

Other countries have already started playing this rift to their benefit, particularly China. Recognising Muizzu’s interest in strengthening the Chinese-Maldivian foreign relations, Chinese President Xi Jinping invited his counterpart for a five-day high-profile state visit, which is where Muizzu was when things took a sharp turn for the worse. Moreover, Muizzu has also announced plans to import food from Turkey and medicines from Europe and the US. In light of all of this, things definitely look tricky for Indio-Maldivian relations.