Identifying religious radicalisation and violent extremism as a "critical threat", the Chief of the Maldivian National Defence Force has called upon India to act as the guarantor of peace and stability in the Indian Ocean Region.

Major General Abdulla Shamaal acknowledged India's role as a regional security provider at a lecture in New Delhi on 'National Security Vulnerabilities: Issues for Small States", organised by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses on July 5.

Drawing upon the precedence of India being the first responder to crises in the region, Major General Shamaal, Chief of Defence Forces of the Maldives, said India "should play a key role as a guarantor of peace and stability in the Indian Ocean Region". Regional and international stability was vital for smaller states, he pointed out.

The 'India First Policy' articulated by Major General Shamaal marks a dramatic return of Maldives to the India fold after five years of alienation during the rule of the former President Abdulla Yameen from 2013 to 2018. During Yameen's rule, the strategically located archipelago actively courted Chinese involvement in the region to dilute India's traditional influence. The defeat of Yameen by Mohammad Solih in the Presidential election of 2018 has ended the Maldivian drift

The 'India First Policy' articulated by Major General Shamaal marks a dramatic return of Maldives to the India fold after five years of alienation during the rule of the former President Abdulla Yameen from 2013 to 2018. During Yameen's rule, the strategically located archipelago actively courted Chinese involvement in the region to dilute India's traditional influence. The defeat of Yameen by Mohammad Solih in the Presidential election of 2018 has ended the Maldivian drift.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first foreign visit after his re-election was to Maldives last month, signifying the importance India attaches to ties with its neighbourhood. The visit was also a signal that that traditional warmth had returned to the ties after the five-year estrangement. During this visit, Modi was conferred with Maldives' highest honour for a foreign dignitary. He also addressed the Maldivian Parliament, during which he called upon all nations to unite against terror.

Echoing India's concerns, Major General Shamaal said radicalisation and violent extremism posed a "critical threat" to the states in the region. Citing the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka, he called for a multi-domain, multi-agency and multi-structural approach by various states to counter this menace. Countries in the region could draw many positive lessons from Indian culture and its democratic traditions, he said.

The General's reference to the tradition of India being the benevolent first responder to crises in the Maldives was a recapitulation of New Delhi's military intervention in 1988 codenamed Operation Cactus to undo a coup by Sri Lankan mercenaries and restore the Government of the then President Gayoom, the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief during the Tsunami of 2004 and the drinking water crisis of 2014. India has also supported Maldives in its transition to democracy and the strengthening of its institutions. It has also assisted actively in building the capacity of the Maldivian forces, and ensuring security for the archipelago.

While articulating the vulnerabilities of small states, he said lack of size and economic power has to be overcome by leveraging strategic significance, in an obvious reference to the key location of the Maldives, right in the middle of the world's busiest sea lanes.

The Military chief held that radicalisation and violent extremism posed a critical threat to the states in the region. Citing the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka, he said that it was a very complex and complicated issue which required multi-domain, multi-agency and multi-structural approach by various states to counter the menace, with a "whole of Government" and "Whole of Society" approach

Smaller states require a stable regional and international order to grow as they need to expand their influence in the international arena and also value their autonomy in decision making, he said, while calling for India to actively play the role of a stabiliser.

The Military chief held that radicalisation and violent extremism posed a critical threat to the states in the region. Citing the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka, he said that it was a very complex and complicated issue which required multi-domain, multi-agency and multi-structural approach by various states to counter the menace, with a "whole of Government" and "Whole of Society" approach.

Major General Shamaal said that the international environment today is extremely turbulent and volatile due to multi-layered complexities and uncertainties which often become unmanageable because of incomplete and ambiguous information sharing by states and security agencies. Therefore, there was a need for collective action, he emphasised, mirroring the sentiment expressed by Prime Minister Modi in Male in June.

The General also termed climate change as a serious thrreat to the Maldives. Rising water levels and temperatures are posing a critical threat to the marine ecology around Maldives as well as threatening to submerge many islands, he pointed out.