No longer welcome in the Maldives

A bold statement made by the Maldives this week. In a show of steadfastness and unconditional support for the Palestinians, the government of the Muslim archipelago in the Indian Ocean has decided to ban the entry of Israeli passport holders. No more lush beaches, warm temperatures, and stunning nature to be enjoyed by Israeli tourists. Well, at least those who do not have dual nationality. Those Israelis can still enter by using different passports and, apparently, roughly ten percent of Israelis have one. So, approximately 1,000,000 Israelis can still visit this beautiful country, myself included – not that I would want to, but still. So, this staunch show of solidarity is not that strong in practice, but it does prove the Maldives’ unwavering support for the Palestinians. Why is it adopting such a harsh stance?

A very short history of Israel-Maldives relations

When the Maldives gained independence from Great Britain in the 1960s, Israel was the third country to recognize it. After the Yom Kippur War, the Maldives would decide to suspend ties with Israel – it took them a while, as the decision was made in 1974. In the twenty-first century, it seemed as though ties might be restored. There was a series of cooperation agreements between the two countries and the Foreign Minister of the Maldives Ahmed Naseem paid a visit to Israel in 2008. This changed in 2018 under President Abdullah Yameen. He ended the cooperation agreements and a rapprochement was abandoned. Under Yameen the steadfast support for the Palestinians was prioritized, which placated Islamists at home.

The Maldives supports the two-state solution, based on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state. It already established diplomatic relations with the State of Palestine in 1982. This position is not strange, Israel’s strongest allies support the two-state solution as well. Its support is understandable from a Maldivian perspective, too. Being a Muslim country, it makes sense that it would support the right to self-determination and the consequent statehood of a fellow predominantly Muslim nation. But would a boycott of Israeli holidaymakers achieve that?

Political grandstanding at its best

Of course not, but it is a cheap way of showing solidarity with Palestinians. First of all, the original proposed law was amended, so Israelis with dual nationality could still enter – could you imagine the Maldives refusing Israelis with British or American citizenship? Second of all, the economic impact would be marginal. In terms of income from tourism, the biggest driver of the archipelago’s economy, the Israeli share is marginal. The biggest supplier of tourists in 2024 was China. So, now it becomes interesting. Considering that the current President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu is a champion of strengthening the Islamic identity of Maldivians and thus supports the Palestinians due to Muslim kinship ties, what is the government’s stance on, say, the Uyghurs and the way the Chinese state treats them?

First of all, Muizzu campaigned on a pro-China platform and has attended anti-India events in the Maldives. After becoming president in November 2023, he paid his first state visit to Beijing, not New Delhi as is customary in the Maldives. Then, he allowed a Chinese research vessel to dock in a Maldives harbor, triggering an angry response from India, as the latter is wary of China operating in the Indian Ocean. So, why visit China? Well, as I mentioned before, he campaigned on a pro-China platform. In addition, China is an economic powerhouse and the Maldives is in need of foreign investors to boost its economy. Tourism is the biggest driver of economic growth, but fish exports have plummeted last year. Moreover, Chinese tourists are a vital source of income for the Maldives. And this year a new Foreign Direct Investment law came into effect, granting China the same status as domestic investors, as well as most-favored-nation status. Any mention of the Uyghurs? No, it is nice to see that good old hard power – in the Maldives’ case of an economic kind – still has effect in international relations.

President Muizzu has, however, taken a tougher stance on India. He campaigned on anti-India sentiments, a longstanding ally of the archipelago, as he promised to pivot the country more towards China. However, the earlier mentioned Chinese vessel caused quite a stir in India, leading to some harsh language between Indian and Maldivian officials on social media, which finally ended with Indian President Narendra Modi promoting the beaches of the Indian union territory of Lakshadweep, considered a threat to Maldivian income – Indian tourists account for a large share of Maldivian income as well. Indeed, calls to boycott the Maldives gained traction in India. Did Muizzu stick to his guns? Hardly. In October 2024, Muizzu paid a visit to Modi, the goal of which was to repair ties. The Maldivian economy could use financial support and India agreed to give it. In turn, Muizzu granted India the opportunity to build a consulate in the Maldives, as well as construct an Indian-funded military harbor. India’s readiness to bailout the Maldivian economy, which is burdened with massive debt repayments, shows that Muizzu is much more dependent on aid from his foreign neighbor than he thought. And the thorny issue of Kashmir? Not worth mentioning at all.

So, when it concerns two strong regional countries who are vital to the Maldives in terms of hard power, economic and military, Muslim solidarity tends to take somewhat of a backseat. How original. What about other issues?

Other conflicts in the Muslim world

The core principles of Maldivian foreign policy are helpful, which can easily be found on the website of the Foreign Ministry. Of the five core principles outlined on the website, two stand out, namely the sovereign equality of states in accordance with international law; and the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. In this case, its harsh tone towards Israel and recent boycott of Israeli passport holders due to the ongoing war can be explained based on the first principle, as the Maldives recognized the State of Palestine decades ago. Limited Palestinian self-governance instead of independence, therefore, falls short of the sovereignty of a state they recognize. Fine, but what about other conflicts that involve contested land and quests for independence in the Muslim world? For instance, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is recognized by Algeria and several other states across the globe. The Sahrawi, who live in the Western Sahara, an area claimed by neigboring Morocco as the latter’s southern provinces, are a Muslim people. Does the Maldives have anything to say about this? Not at all. What about the Kurds? Again, a Muslim majority people whose lands stretch across Türkiye, Iraq, Syria, and Iran. Many Kurds would favor independence. Does the Maldives have any opinion on this matter? Nothing noteworthy. How about the Baloch? This predominantly Muslim nation was once independent, until it was conquered by the British and later divided between Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. There is an independence movement among the Baloch, too. Does the Maldives care to weigh in on this? No. But, probably, the Maldives would skillfully file all of these issues under the other principle I referred to: other countries’ internal affairs. Just as it called the issue of Taiwan a Chinese “internal affair,” it would probably call these issues internal as well. How convenient.

Support for a two-state solution: really?

Finally, let us look at the repeated statements made by the Maldivian Foreign Ministry throughout the years. It has remained steadfast in its support of the Palestinians and continues to stress the need for a Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders. If they were truly interested in this, then you would expect some kind of effort to bring this about. However, that would mean trying to engage Israel as well. There is as saying in Dutch: “with syrup you will catch more flies, than with vinegar.” Clearly, the Maldives has chosen vinegar. From October 7^th until today, the overwhelming majority of statements and press releases from the Foreign Ministry focus on condemning Israel. While ignoring Hamas completely, it does condemn Israel severely, by lamenting the deaths of Palestinian civilians. Of course, the civilian death toll is tragic and, therefore, the Foreign Ministry’s call for a ceasefire is certainly understandable. However, what did it have to say on October 7^th, when the slaughter of Israeli civilians, including Muslims, by Hamas had taken place? In a statement, it expressed grave concern about the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip. No condemnation of Hamas’ terror attack on Israeli soil – apparently, the Foreign Ministry was on a different planet when that happened.  Perhaps it would make a statement after a few days, when more details were publicized. Nothing of the sort, yet it did condemn the bombing of the al-Ahli hospital, that wonderful piece of solid journalism provided by the BBC, which was immediately copied by outlets across the globe. In line with that report, the Maldives quickly condemned Israel for the bombing. Was an adjustment made to this statement after it became clear that the death toll was much lower and almost certainly caused by an errant Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket? Of course not. So, the Maldives is very quick to condemn Israel, but remains silent about Hamas and Islamic Jihad. It is not surprising, though, as it has nothing to say about the atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces, also known as the Janjaweed, in Darfur either, despite the fact that this is happening right now. But, I guess that the Maldives is not aware of this either or maybe considers it a Sudanese “internal affair” as well.

The Maldives: Islamic solidarity when it aligns with their interests

In short, the Maldives will give you support if the cost is not too high. The country is not exceptional when it comes to this, of course, but when you decide to champion the cause of the Palestinians so strongly, it is rather odd that you would choose to ignore or dismiss other issues so casually. Therefore, boycotting Israelis is a good way to score points, a stance that will not cost the country much. Israelis with an Israeli passport only can always enjoy the fine beaches Israel has to offer. And if they would still like a change of scenery, there are plenty of other beautiful locations this fascinating planet of ours has to offer.

However, Israelis with dual nationality could still enter and spend a holiday there. But the fact that the Maldives has banned Israeli passport holders from visiting the country might somewhat reduce the cost of tourism on the archipelago’s environment, considering that some have warned of a potentially devastating future for the country in terms of climate change. Finally, roughly one third of the country’s population consists of migrant workers, who are seemingly very much disadvantaged when compared to Maldivian citizens. We can only hope that the government of the Maldives will one day champion the rights of migrant workers who substantially contribute to their economy in the same way that they support the Palestinians.