NEW DELHI: The diplomatic row between India and Maldives escalated further on Sunday with Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, who returned from a state visit to China on Saturday, setting March 15 as the deadline for New Delhi to withdraw its troops from the country.
There are 88 Indian military personnel stationed in Maldives to operate one helicopter and two Dornier aircraft provided by India for search and rescue operations.
Muizzu was elected in November last year on a promise to end India’s military presence in the island nation. A day after he was sworn in, Muizzu on November 18 formally asked India to withdraw the troops.
The India-Maldives High-Level Core Group set up to negotiate the withdrawal held its first meeting on Sunday at Male’s foreign ministry headquarters. The meeting was attended by Indian High Commissioner to Maldives Munu Mahawar.
Public policy secretary at the Maldivian President’s Office Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim later told a press meet that the government of Maldives has formally asked India to withdraw its troops by March 15.
“Indian military personnel cannot stay in the Maldives. This is the policy of the President and that of his administration,” Ibrahim said.
The March 15 deadline comes amid a worsening diplomatic spat between the two countries that began with derogatory comments posted on social media by three deputy ministers of the Muizzu government against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The three have since been suspended.
It also comes a day after Muizzu, known for his pro-China stance, wrapped up his five-day state visit to Beijing. Upon return from China, Muizzu, in a thinly-veiled attack on India, said that Maldives may be a small country, but that doesn’t give anyone ‘the licence to bully’.
"We aren’t in anyone’s backyard. We are an independent and sovereign state,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs said during the first meeting of the India-Maldives High-Level Core Group, both sides held discussions on “finding a mutually workable solution to enable continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and medvac services to the people of Maldives.”