Amid the ongoing diplomatic rift, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has said that no Indian military personnel, not even those in civilian clothing, would remain inside his country after May 10.
Maldives President Muizzu while addressing people said the Indian military personnel are not departing as they are returning after changing their uniforms into civilian clothing, a report in PTI quoting a Maldives news portal Edition.mv as saying.
Mohamed Muizzu's statement comes less than a week after an Indian civilian team reached the country to take charge of one of the three aviation platforms in the island nation, ahead of the March 10 deadline agreed by the two nations for the withdrawal of Indian military forces.
Addressing the Baa atoll Eydhafushi residential community, the President said that due to his government’s success in expelling Indian troops, people who spread false rumours, are attempting to twist the situation.
“That these people (Indian military) are not departing, that they are returning after changing their uniforms into civilian clothing. We must not indulge such thoughts that instil doubts in our hearts and spread lies,” the Maldivian outlet quoted Muizzu as saying.
“There will be no Indian troops in the country come May 10. Not in uniform and not in civilian clothing. The Indian military will not be residing in this country in any form of clothing. I state this with confidence,” he added.
Last month, after a high-level meeting in Delhi between the two sides, the Maldivian foreign ministry on February 2 said India would replace its military personnel operating the three aviation platforms in the Maldives by May 10 and the first phase of the process would be completed by March 10.
In his maiden address to Parliament last month, Muizzu made similar remarks. There are 88 military personnel manning the three Indian platforms that have been providing humanitarian and medical evacuation services to the people of the Maldives for the last few years using two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft.
Muizzu came to power last year on an anti-India stance and within hours of taking oath demanded India to remove its personnel from the strategically located archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
As per Edition.mv, the first troops to depart from Maldives are the Indian military personnel operating the two helicopters in Addu City, the military personnel present in Haa Dhaalu atoll Hanimaadhoo and Laamu atoll Kahdhoo are also expected to leave ahead of May 10.
India had agreed to remove its troops from Maldives under the condition that a number of their civilians equivalent to the military presence are brought to operate the aircraft.
The Opposition has criticised the Indian government saying that the Indian personnel sent to Maldives as civilians are in reality military officials out of uniform and that the government has no way to ascertain otherwise.
Meanwhile, local media reports also said that Maldives has successfully tied up with Sri Lanka to run flights for medical evacuation last week, further indicating that it is bent on removing all Indian troops in whichever category.
The Maldives' proximity to India, which is around 70 nautical miles from the island of Minicoy in Lakshadweep and 300 nautical miles from the mainland's western coast, and its location at the hub of commercial sea lanes running through the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) gives it significant strategic importance.
The country has been India's key maritime neighbour in the IOR and it occupies a special place in its initiatives such as SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the Neighbourhood First Policy.'