Foreign military forces cannot stay in the land of Maldives, president-elect Mohamed Muizzu told a rally celebrating his win in closely watched weekend presidential elections that are hoped to redraw links with China and India.
Muizzu, who beat President Ibrahim Solih in a second-round runoff on Saturday, is supported by a cartel known to be relative to China, and supported an “India Out” campaign a few years ago, against a small unit of Indian military.
At Monday’s event, Muizzu told supporters, “All the countries that agree to our pro-Maldives policy will be our close friends and allies.”
Without naming any country, he added, “We will send back foreign soldiers in the Maldives.”
In the past, his party has considered New Delhi’s overwhelming influence as a possible threat to sovereignty and Muizzu blamed the South Asian nation for seeking to establish a permanent military existence in the Indian Ocean archipelago.
India, with traditionally close links to Male, declines that claim and is assisting in creating a naval harbor for Maldivian forces to be trained by its military.
India will “wait and watch” Muizzu’s approaches, a senior Indian government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“He has to work with us, and we have to work with him,” the official added, highlighting that New Delhi was “not anti-Maldives.”
Solih, who supported an “India First” policy, continues in office until Muizzu is inaugurated on November 17.
