News Brief
First Batch Of Technical Crew Lands In Maldives To Replace Indian Military Staff
File photo of Maldives' President Mohamed Muizzu.
The Indian government confirmed on Thursday (29 March) that a contingent of Indian technical staff has arrived in the Maldives to replace military personnel previously operating aircraft in the region.
This can potentially result in the easing of tensions that have been going on since the pro-China President Mohammed Muizzu was elected in November 2023, who came to power on the back of the "India-Out" political campaign.
“The first team of technical personnel to operate the advanced light helicopter has reached Maldives. It will replace the existing personnel that were until now operating this platform. So that is where we are,” stated Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
Jaiswal did not specify the number of troops being replaced in the initial batch, from a total of 88 Indian military personnel believed to be stationed in the Maldives.
The announcement regarding the first batch of replacements precedes the 10 March “deadline” reportedly set by the Maldivian government after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's early December meeting with President Muizzu, during which the leaders established a high-level core group to deliberate on the matter.
Although the Maldivian government consistently stated that the decision to substitute troops with civilian technical staff had been made, New Delhi remained reticent, only stating that both parties were in pursuit of “workable” and “mutually acceptable” solutions.
On 4 February, Muizzu unexpectedly informed the Maldivian Majlis or parliament that an agreement had been reached.
“According to the latest discussions, military personnel on one of the three aviation platforms will be withdrawn before 10 March 2024. The military personnel on the remaining two platforms will also be withdrawn by May 10, 2024,” Muizzu announced.
Subsequently, the MEA stated that the troops would be replaced by “competent technical personnel”, but declined to specify whether they would be civilian or military.
With the initial steps towards resolving this contentious issue apparently taken, India and the Maldives have indicated a restoration of progress in other strategic cooperation areas.
On Sunday, India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives concluded the latest iteration of their biennial trilateral maritime exercises, dubbed “Dosti-16”, involving their coast guard services.
During the inauguration of the exercises, which saw Bangladesh participating as an observer, Maldivian Defence Minister Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon expressed that the Muizzu government “assigns the utmost importance to ensuring that close relations, peace, and stability are maintained between the Maldives and neighbouring nations.”
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