Maldives Crisis: Chinese Warships Which Entered Indian Ocean Return Home As India Maintains Heavy Deployment

Warships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), which sailed into the East Indian Ocean this month, reportedly to deter Indian intervention in the Maldives, have returned to the South China Sea as Indian Navy continues heavy deployment in the region, the Business Standard has reported.

According to a Reuters report, which cited a report on Chinese website Sina.com, a fleet of destroyers and at least one frigate, a 30,000-tone amphibious transport dock and three support tankers entered the Indian Ocean earlier this month.

The PLAN had posted pictures and a story on rescue training exercises taking place in the East Indian Ocean on its official Twitter-like Weibo account.

Eleven warships had entered the Indian Ocean, the report claimed. However, other reports, including one in The Print, suggested that five Chinese warships had entered the Eastern Indian Ocean while two groups of three warships were already present in the Western Indian Ocean.

The Chinese Navy flotilla had entered the Eastern Indian Ocean through the Sunda Strait and returned to the South China Sea through the Lombok Strait.

This development comes when President Abdulla Yameen of the Maldives, who has declared an emergency in the country after refusing to comply with a Supreme Court ruling, is consolidating power in his hands. Yamen, often regarded as pro-China, has arrested the Chief Justice of the country, another Supreme Court judge and former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

In a dramatic judgement on 2 February, the top court ordered the release of nine political prisoners, including exiled former President Nasheed, saying their trials were "politically motivated". It also overturned a ruling that disqualified 12 members of parliament after defection, giving the opposition a majority in the Majlis.

Under Yameen, the Maldives has not only seen a decline in democratic freedoms, but also a rise in Chinese influence. China has invested in multiple infrastructure projects and has signed a free trade agreement with the country. Yameen has ignored repeated snubs from New Delhi and has not shown sensitivity towards India’s security concerns in face of increasing Chinese influence in the island nation.

India has said that it is closely monitoring the situation in the Maldives. While many sections have called for a military intervention, the government has stayed away from signalling that it is considering the option.

Describing the conflict as an internal crisis of the Maldives, China has said that no outside power should intervene. However, state-run Chinese media has warned India against a military intervention, saying China would respond to any such action.