President-elect Mohamed Muizzu stated at a rally celebrating his victory in the closely awaited presidential elections over the weekend that are likely to reshape relations with India and China that foreign military personnel cannot remain in the Maldives.
A coalition with ties to China is supporting Muizzu, who on Saturday defeated incumbent President Ibrahim Solih in a second-round runoff. Muizzu previously led the “India Out” campaign against a small Indian military contingent.
“All the countries which agree to our pro-Maldives policy will be our close friends and allies,” Muizzu told supporters at Monday’s event.
“We will send back foreign soldiers in the Maldives,” he added, without naming any country.
His party has previously considered India’s overwhelming influence as a potential danger to sovereignty, and Muizzu has accused the South Asian country of attempting to create a permanent military presence in the Indian Ocean archipelago.
India, which has always had close connections with Male, opposes this statement and is assisting in the construction of a naval harbour for Maldivian forces to be trained by its military.
According to a senior Indian government source who spoke on the condition of anonymity, New Delhi will “wait and watch” Muizzu’s policies.
Solih, who championed an “India First” policy, continues in office until Muizzu is inaugurated on Nov 17.
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