Australia gifts new patrol boat to Maldives to ‘maintain regional security’

Australia’s defence minister said Monday that the Maldives will gifted a navy patrol boat as a gift to “maintain regional security” while on a tour to the strategically located Indian Ocean archipelago.

Global east-west shipping routes flow via the nation’s network of 1,192 small coral islands, stretching around 800 kilometres (500 miles) across the equator.

Australia is a member of the Quad grouping, which includes the United States, Japan, and India, and is considered as a counterbalance to China’s expanding position in the Indian Ocean.

“In line with our national defence strategy, Australia is working with partners across the Northeast Indian Ocean to maintain regional security and stability”, Richard Marles said in Male.

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“As Indian Ocean countries, Australia and the Maldives share a vision of our region that is peaceful, stable and prosperous,” Marles said in a statement following talks with his counterpart, Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon.

The 39.5-metre long (129-foot) Guardian-class boat, a type of craft which Australia uses to patrol Pacific island nations, possesses a 3,000 nautical mile range, and can accommodate 23 people.

The promised craft is under construction and would be ready by next year.

Australia is also providing hydrographic equipment to help the Maldives map its ocean floor, to increase maritime safety and unlock economic development, Marles said.

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Better known as a luxury holiday destination with pristine white sand beaches and secluded resorts, the Maldives has also become a geopolitical hotspot.

Neighbouring India and China have jostled for influence in Male, whose pro-Beijing president came to power in 2023 on a promise to evict dozens of Indian troops based there.

But after initially frosty relations with New Delhi, President Mohamed Muizzu was given a red carpet welcome in October 2024 on a state visit to India, a trip which Prime Minister Narendra Modi said marked a “new chapter” to reset troubled ties.