Maldives President Muizzu denies pursuing 'India Out' agenda, cites concerns over foreign military presence

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu denied pursuing an "India Out" agenda, clarifying that the issue is with foreign military presence on Maldivian soil, not specifically targeting India. Muizzu emphasized that Maldivians don't want foreign soldiers on their soil, citing concerns about foreign military personnel.

Mohamed Muizzu, Maldives President, denied having an "India Out" agenda, stating that the nation opposes foreign military presence on its soil. Speaking at Princeton University's "Dean's Leadership Series", Muizzu emphasized that Maldives is not against any specific country. He cited concerns about foreign military personnel, stressing that Maldivians do not want foreign soldiers on their soil.

“We have never been against any one country at any point. It’s not ‘India Out’. Maldives faced a serious problem with foreign military presence on this soil,” Maldivian news portal adhadhu.com quoted him as saying. “The people of Maldives do not want a single foreign soldier in the country,” he said.

Muizzu's comments come amid strained ties with India since he took office in November. He, who is known to be pro-China, had requested India to withdraw its 90 military personnel operating gifted aviation platforms. India complied by May 10, replacing them with civilian personnel to operate a Dornier aircraft and two choppers.

Muizzu also addressed derogatory social media posts against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Maldivian deputy ministers. He condemned the actions, stating that he took disciplinary action and values respect for all individuals.

“No one should say such a thing. I took action against it. I will not accept insulting anyone like that, whether he is a leader or an ordinary person. Every human being has a reputation,” he said.

Several Maldives minister made derogatory comments after Modi's visit to Lakshadweep on January 2, which Maldivian officials saw as promoting the Union territory as a rival tourist destination.