Back in the sun: Patient and constructive diplomacy pays off in Maldives

As the recent reset with Sri Lanka has demonstrated, mature responses to geopolitical pressures can be as effective as the exercise of hard power

With a red carpet, a 21-gun salute, a guard of honour, and the nation’s highest award for the Indian Prime Minister, the Maldives and India signalled a critical reset of relations, which had touched the nadir in 2023. Then, newly elected Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu demanded the withdrawal of 90 Indian military persons, stationed there for medical evacuation and maritime surveillance, on the grounds that the decades-long presence infringed on Maldivian sovereignty. An agreement with China for “non-lethal” weapons supply followed a month later. But the tensions between New Delhi and Male date back 11 years, when the Maldivian government