India navy to open strategic base near Maldives

NEW DELHI, Mar 03 (AFP): India's navy has said it is bolstering forces on "strategically important" islands close to the Maldives, with a new base set to open just days before Male starts sending home Indian forces.
Relations between India and the Maldives have soured since pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu won elections last year after promising to expel Indian forces.
India is suspicious of China's growing presence in the archipelago nation, which straddles key east-west international shipping routes, and the new base will extend New Delhi's "operational surveillance" of the area, the navy said in a statement late Saturday.