The Maldives signed an agreement with China to receive military aid from Beijing. (document)
Male, Maldives:
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizul has stepped up his anti-India rhetoric and confirmed that no Indian military personnel, even plainclothes troops, will be present in the Maldives after May 10, media reported today.
President Muizu’s statement comes less than a week after an Indian civilian team arrived in the Maldives to take charge of one of the island nation’s three aviation platforms, well ahead of the March 10 deadline agreed by both countries to withdraw Indian military personnel. the term.
The President, while addressing the Ida Fushi neighborhood of Baa Atoll during a tour of the atoll, said that as his government has succeeded in driving out Indian troops from the country, those spreading false rumors are trying to distort the situation, news portal Edition.mv the report said.
“those people [Indian military] Instead of setting off, he changed his uniform into casual clothes and returned. We must not indulge in such ideas that instill doubts in our minds and spread lies,” the portal quoted Mr Muizur, widely regarded as a Chinese-backed leader, as saying.
“On May 10, there will be no more Indian troops in the country. No uniforms, no civilian clothes. The Indian troops will not be stationed in this country in any form of attire. I state this with full confidence,” he said in a statement One day, his country signed an agreement with China to receive free military aid.
Earlier last month, following a high-level meeting between the two sides in Delhi on February 2, the Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that India would replace military personnel operating three aviation platforms in the Maldives by May 10, the first step in the process. The phase will be completed by March 10.
He made similar remarks in his first speech to parliament on February 5.
Three Indian platforms, with 88 military personnel on board, have been providing humanitarian and medical evacuation services to the people of Maldives for the past few years using two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft.
Muizur came to power last year on an anti-India stance and within hours of being sworn in demanded India to evacuate personnel from the strategic archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
Edition.mv further reported that while the first batch of troops to leave the country were Indian military personnel operating two helicopters in Addu city, military personnel in Hadaru Hanima Addu Atoll and Lamu Atoll Kadu are expected to Will also leave before May
India has agreed to withdraw its troops from the Maldives on the condition that it deploys a certain number of civilians equivalent to a military presence to operate the aircraft.
The portal said the opposition has been critical of the government, claiming that the Indian personnel sent to the Maldives in a civilian capacity were actually ununiformed officers and that the government could not determine otherwise.
At the same time, local media reports also stated that the Maldives successfully launched a medical evacuation flight in cooperation with Sri Lanka last week, further demonstrating the Maldives’ determination to withdraw all Indian troops.
The President further emphasized that ensuring true independence is a concept that is his top priority and said that the country is paying due attention “to recapture the deprived southern seas besides expelling Indian troops from the Maldives”.
“I am confident that we will be able to achieve this. The delay in completing this task is due to unfavorable procedures in its execution. It was completed without even bringing the matter to parliament… and it is also contrary to the constitution,” Portal The website quoted the president as saying.
The Maldives borders India, just 70 nautical miles from Minicoi Island in the Lakshadweep Islands and 300 nautical miles from the west coast of the mainland, and its location at the hub of commercial shipping lanes across the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) gives it an important position. strategic importance.
The Maldives has been India’s key maritime neighbor in the Indian Ocean region and holds a special place in initiatives such as SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and Neighborhood First Policy.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
