India has withdrawn all its military personnel stationed in the Maldives, said Heena Waleed, the chief spokesperson for the Maldivian president's office, reported PTI on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, India’s Ministry of External Affairs also confirmed that the military personnel have been replaced by “competent Indian technical personnel” for operating aviation platforms.
The platforms provide humanitarian and medical evacuation services to the people of Maldives.
On February 2, the Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that India had agreed to withdraw its military personnel from the island nation by May 10 and replace the aviation management staff with civilians.
Following this, the first Indian team of civilian technical personnel arrived in Maldives on February 26 to replace the military personnel.
In March, the Indian government said that the first batch of Indian military personnel stationed in the Maldives had been repatriated.
India was the only foreign power with a military presence in the Maldives. A group of Indian defence personnel had been maintaining radar stations and surveillance aircraft in the archipelago. Indian warships also help patrol the Maldives’ exclusive economic zone.
This collaboration was of strategic importance to New Delhi amid its geopolitical competition with China in the Indian Ocean region.
For Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, who is considered to hold a favourable stance towards China, removing the Indian military from his country was a key election promise. After preliminary negotiations in October, he asked India to withdraw its troops from the country. In December, he claimed that India had agreed to withdraw its soldiers.
Muizzu made his first official state visit to China earlier in January, amid a diplomatic spat with India. India is typically the first country that new Maldivian presidents visit after assuming power. Muizzu had first requested a visit to New Delhi but was turned down, according to reports.
Meanwhile, Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer, who is on his first official visit to India, said that the Muizzu government has distanced itself from the remarks made by three deputy ministers of the island nation in January about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“It's not the stand of the government or it's not the view of the government,” Zameer said in an interview with ANI. “And we believe it shouldn't have been done. And then we are taking proper action to make sure that this do not repeat.”
He said that there has been a misunderstanding mainly on social media, but the governments of the two countries have passed that stage now.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!