"There will be no Indian troops in the country come May 10. Not in uniform and not in civilian clothing. I state this with confidence," Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu said, on a day he signed an agreement with China for free military aid.
Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has escalated his criticism of India, saying that after May 10, no Indian military personnel—not even those dressed in civilian clothes—will be allowed within his nation. Less than two weeks have passed since an Indian civilian team arrived in the Maldives to assume command of one of the three aircraft platforms on the island country, far in advance of the March 10 deadline that the two countries had set for the departure of Indian military troops.
During his tour across the atoll, the President addressed the Baa atoll Eydhafushi residential community. He said that people who spread false rumors are trying to twist the situation because his government has been successful in removing Indian troops from the country, according to a news portal called Edition.mv.
"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 portal quoted Muizzu, widely regarded as a China-backed leader, as saying.
"By May 10, there won't be any Indian troops in the nation. neither dressed in normal clothes nor in a uniform. There will be no clothes worn by the Indian military while they are here. I can say this with confidence," he said on the same day that his nation inked a deal with China to get free military assistance.
Earlier last month, after a high-level meeting in Delhi on February 2 between the two sides, the Maldivian foreign ministry 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 on February 5, he made similar remarks. Using two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft, 88 military troops have been stationed at three Indian platforms for the past few years to provide medical and humanitarian evacuation services to the people of the Maldives.