Maldives Orders Indian Officials To Leave: By May 10, there won’t be any Indian troops in the nation. neither dressed in normal clothes nor in a uniform. There will be no clothing worn by the Indian military while they are here. On the same day that he inked a deal for free military assistance with China, he declared, “I state this with confidence.”
Male, Maldives: President Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives has escalated his criticism of India, saying that after May 10, no Indian military personnel—not even those dressed in civilian clothes—will be allowed inside his nation, according to a media report released today.
Less than two weeks have passed since an Indian civilian team arrived in the Maldives to assume command of one of the three aircraft platforms on the island nation, far in advance of the March 10 deadline that the two countries had set for the departure of Indian military troops.
During his tour across the atoll, the President addressed the Baa atoll Eydhafushi residential community. He said that people who spread false rumors are trying to twist the situation because his government has been successful in removing Indian troops from the country, according to a news portal called Edition.mv.
“That they [Indian military personnel] are not leaving, that they are coming back after donning civilian attire instead of uniforms. Mr. Muizzu, who is generally recognized as a leader supported by China, was cited on the page as saying, “We must not indulge such thoughts that instill doubts in our hearts and spread lies.”
By May 10, there won’t be any Indian troops in the nation. neither dressed in normal clothes nor in a uniform. There will be no clothing worn by the Indian military while they are here. “I can say this with confidence,” he declared on the same day that his nation inked a deal with China to get free military assistance.
Following a high-level meeting between the two parties in Delhi on February 2, the Maldivian foreign ministry announced earlier this month that India would replace the military personnel in charge of the three Maldivian aviation platforms by May 10 and finish the first phase of the process by March 10.
He had said similar things on February 5 in his first speech to Parliament.
Using two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft, 88 military troops have been stationed at three Indian platforms for the past few years to provide medical and humanitarian evacuation services to the people of the Maldives.
Riding to power on an anti-Indian platform last year, Mr. Muizzu demanded within hours of assuming office that India withdraw its personnel from the strategically important archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
The military soldiers stationed on Haa Dhaalu atoll Hanimaadhoo and Laamu atoll Kahdhoo are anticipated to depart before May 10, according to Edition.mv, which also stated that the Indian military personnel manning the two helicopters in Addu City are the first troops to leave the nation.
India had consented to withdraw its troops from the Maldives on the understanding that they would bring in enough civilians to man the aircraft in lieu of military personnel.
The portal stated that the opposition has been criticizing the administration, claiming that the Indian people who were deployed to the Maldives as civilians were actually military officers who were not in uniform and that there was no way for the government to find out otherwise.
Local media sources from last week also stated that the Maldives has successfully partnered with Sri Lanka to operate medical evacuation planes, suggesting that the country is determined to get rid of all Indian personnel, regardless of status.
As an additional indication of how highly he values achieving full independence, the President stated that the State is making the necessary steps “to regain the southern maritime area deprived of the country in addition to expelling Indian troops from the Maldives.”
“I have faith that we can succeed. The application of unfavorable processes has caused a delay in finishing this task. The President was cited on the page as saying, “It was done without even bringing the matter before the parliament… in violation of the Constitution as well.”
The Maldives is strategically vital because of its close proximity to India—it is just 300 nautical miles from the western coast of the continent and barely 70 nautical miles from the island of Minicoy in Lakshadweep—as well as because it is situated at the intersection of commercial sea lanes that traverse the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
In the Indo-Pacific region, the Maldives has been India’s principal maritime neighbor. It holds a particular position in programs like SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the Neighbourhood First Policy.
