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Context: India and Maldives signed a defence Line of Credit agreement worth $50 million during Defence Cooperation Dialogue. The defence Line of Credit will “facilitate capability building in the maritime domain”.

 

	·        The Defence Cooperation Dialogue is one of India’s policy-level frameworks that aims to strengthen long-standing and mutually beneficial bilateral defence ties. ·        The first Defence Cooperation Dialogue was held in July 2016 during the presidency of Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom and the second DCD was held in January 2019.

Key highlights of the Defence Cooperation Dialogue:

• Both sides agreed to maintain peace and security in the Indian Ocean Region.
• Both sides to convene the first meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism, countering Violent Extremism and De-radicalisation at the the earliest.
• The defence and security collaboration focus on combating terrorism in “all its forms and manifestations”.
• For deepening security cooperation, an agreement to develop, support and maintain a Maldives National Defence Force Coast Guard Harbour at Sifvaru was also signed.
• The Maldivian side assured Delhi of its support for permanent membership of India at the “expanded and reformed UNSC”.

 

Why Maldives matters to India?

Strategic location:

• The location of the Maldives, at the intersection of commercial sea-lanes running through the Indian Ocean, makes it strategically important for India, particularly in the light of China’s growing aggression in the region.
• Maldives holds strategic importance for India under the Modi government’s ‘Neighborhood First’ policy due to its location in the Indian Ocean.
• The Eight Degree Channel is one of the major maritime lanes of the world.
• Stability, maturity and democratic systems in the Maldives can ensure peace and security in the Indian Ocean.

India-Maldives defence cooperation:

• Since 1988, defence and security have been major areas of cooperation between India and Maldives. This cooperation extends to assisting the Maldives with defence training and equipment requirements.
• In 2016, the two countries also signed a comprehensive action plan to consolidate defence partnership.
• Phase -I extension of the Composite Training Centre (CTC) of the MNDF were completed through an Indian grant.
• The Trinkat-class patrol vessel was gifted to the Maldivian Coast Guard in 2006. This vessel is used by the Maldives for coastal surveillance and for combating transnational crimes such as drug trafficking, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
• India gave two Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters (ALF) to the Maldives in 2010 and 2015 both of which were to be used for ocean search-and-rescue operations, maritime weather surveillance and for airlifting patients between islands.
• Capacity building: India provides the largest number of training opportunities for Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF), meeting around 70 per cent of their defence training requirements.

 

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/india-defence-secretary-ajay-kumar-maldives-visit-explained-7774875/