Why the Maldives President requested India to withdraw its troops from the island

Mohamed Muizzu, the newly elected President of Maldives, "formally requested" the Indian government to "withdraw its military personnel" from the country, according to a statement from his office issued on Saturday (November 18). "The President noted that at the Presidential Election held in September, the Maldivian people had given him a strong mandate to make the request to India and expressed the hope that India will honour the democratic will of the people of the Maldives", the statement from the President's office said. India's Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju, who was present at Muizzu's swearing-in ceremony on Friday, is also…