Amid China's aggression in Indo-Pacific, NSA Ajit Doval holds bilateral talks with Maldivian Defence Minister

Colombo, Nov 28: With China ramping up aggression in the Indo-Pacific region, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met Defence Minister of Maldives Mariya Didi to hold discussions on deepening bilateral partnership with the key island nation in the Indian Ocean.

 

This meet with Didi was part of a trilateral maritime dialogue among India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives being held here in the Sri Lankan capital. Sri Lanka is hosting the fourth national security advisor trilateral meeting on maritime security cooperation with India and the Maldives. The meeting is taking place after six years - the last meeting was held in New Delhi in 2014.

 

"NSA #AjitDoval and @MariyaDidi, Defence Minister of #Maldives held a cordial & detailed discussion on deepening bilateral partnership between India & Maldives in defence and security," High Commission of India in the Maldives said in a tweet.

 

 

Earlier, Doval also called on Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa. He conveyed greetings from PM Narendra Modi and recalled the contribution of the successful Virtual Bilateral Summit between the two leaders to progress in bilateral cooperation. He also met Major Gen (Retd.) Kamal Gunaratne, Defence Secretary of SriLanka & discussed matters pertaining to the growing defence and security partnership between the two countries. The two dignitaries agreed on several steps to further strengthen bilateral co-operation.

 

 

Doval had arrived in Colombo on Friday for the trilateral maritime dialogue. The high-level engagement that covers a wide range of subjects is designed to initiate collective action on maritime security including maritime domain awareness, legal regimes, train in search and rescue, maritime pollution response, information sharing, curbing piracy drugs arms and contraband trafficking in the Indian Ocean region.

 

On Thursday, the External Affairs Ministry said the NSA-level trilateral meeting had served as an effective platform for cooperation among Indian Ocean countries. "The meeting will provide an opportunity for discussion on issues pertaining to cooperation in maritime security in the Indian Ocean region," the MEA said in a statement.

 

The meeting is taking place amidst China's attempts to spread its influence in the resource-rich Indo-Pacific region. Indo-Pacific region is largely viewed as an area comprising the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea.

 

China's territorial claims in the South China Sea and its efforts to advance into the Indian Ocean are seen to have challenged the established rules-based system. Along with this, China views the Maldives as key to its Maritime Silk Road project in the Indian Ocean as it has already acquired Hambantota port in Sri Lanka and Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.

 

Last month during the Quad foreign ministers meeting, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said that India is "committed to upholding the rules-based international order" in Indo-Pacific. Jaishankar also asserted that advancing security and economic interests of all countries having legitimate and vital interests in the Indo-Pacific remained a priority.