Twenty-five Indian troops deployed in the southernmost atoll of Addu have left the archipelago (representative)
male:
India has begun withdrawing military personnel operating reconnaissance aircraft in the Maldives after the new pro-China president ordered the departure, local media reported on Tuesday.
“Mihaaru” reported that 25 Indian soldiers deployed at the southernmost Addu Atoll had left the archipelago before March 10, when both sides agreed to officially start the withdrawal.
President Mohamed Muizou came to power in September pledging to expel Indian security personnel deployed in the Maldives to patrol its vast maritime borders.
After talks with New Delhi, both sides agreed to withdraw 89 Indian troops and their support personnel from the country, which has 1,192 small coral islands, by May 10.
Miharu said the three Indian aircraft – two helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft – will be operated by Indian civilian personnel who have already arrived.
There was no formal confirmation from either Maldivian or Indian authorities, but Miharu said the Maldives Defense Force confirmed that India’s troop withdrawal had begun.
Last week, as the Indians prepared to leave, the Maldives signed a “military assistance” agreement with China.
The Maldives Defense Ministry said the agreement was to promote “stronger bilateral relations” and that China would train its personnel under the agreement.
India is skeptical of China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean and its influence in the Maldives and neighboring Sri Lanka.
The two South Asian island countries are strategically located in the middle of important east-west international shipping routes.
Relations between Male and New Delhi have cooled since Muizou won elections in September.
New Delhi considers the Indian Ocean archipelago to be within its sphere of influence, but the Maldives has entered the orbit of China, its biggest external creditor.
Muizu visited Beijing in January to sign a series of infrastructure, energy, maritime and agricultural deals, after denying he was seeking to redraw the regional balance by bringing in Chinese troops to replace Indian troops.
India said last month it was strengthening its naval presence in the “strategically important” Lakshadweep archipelago, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of the Maldives.
The Indian Navy said its naval forces stationed at Minicoi Island will step up “operational surveillance” of the area.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
