NEW DELHI: Behind the facade of its stated India First policy, the Abdulla Yameen regime in the Maldives continues to run circles around the Indian government. Taken aback by reports in the past few days from Male that Maldives wanted a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft from India, top sources in India said that the letter of exchange (LoE) for deployment of Dornier in the archipelago had actually been pending with the Yameen government since 2016.
"Formal acceptance of the offer through the LoE by Male is the first step to initiate the process for construction of hanger and deployment of Dornier but they have chosen to sit over it for 2 years," said a top Indian government official.
Calling out Male for what they described as its duplicitous nature, official sources said the talk about the need for a Dornier aircraft was nothing but a fig leaf intended to candy-coat Male's decision to get rid of an Indian naval chopper which was gifted by the Indian government.
Earlier reports stated that the Maldives had refused to renew the LoE for one of the 2 Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) which India had gifted to Male. A top Maldives official was quoted as saying that Male had not renewed the LoE because it wanted a Dornier from India.
Top government sources said that the Yameen government had not just refused to renew the LoE for the ALH operating from Addu atoll but had also not responded to an advance offer by India to renew the LoE for the other ALH based in Laamu atoll. This effectively means that Male wants both Indian choppers out.
Developments causing concern: US
Amid allegations of China engaging in massive land grabbing in the Maldives, the Pentagon said it was a cause of concern for the US. Asserting that the US was "committed to a free and open" India-Pacific rules-based order, the Pentagon said anything else would cause the US concern. "The US is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific rules-based order. We have seen concerning developments in Maldives as far as the Chinese influence is concerned," Joe Felter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia, said.
"It's in India's backyard. We know it's of concern to India. So, yes, (the situation in Maldives) is a concern. We will see how it plays out. It emphasises some of our priorities identified in our National Defence Strategy," the top Pentagon official said.
He was responding to a question on the allegations of a Maldivian opposition leader and a former foreign minister, on the Chinese land grabbing activities in the island nation with the potential of developing them into a military outpost.
Felter said these developments were "a cause of concern" for all states that supported the maintenance of a rules-based order.
