Maldives to Withdraw Indian Troops in Phases, Starting Before March 10

On Monday, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu announced that the initial batch of Indian military personnel would depart from the island nation before March 10, with the remaining Indian personnel stationed at two aviation platforms to be withdrawn by May 10.

In his maiden address to Parliament, Muizzu, widely seen as a pro-China leader, said he believes a large majority of Maldivians support his administration with the expectation that they will remove foreign military presence from the country, and recover the lost oceanic territory.

Muizzu stated that his administration is committed to safeguarding the country's sovereignty and will not entertain any state agreements that could undermine it, as reported by The Edition newspaper.

Following his inauguration as President of Maldives on November 17, Muizzu formally urged India to withdraw 88 military personnel from the Maldives by March 15. He emphasized that this request was made in response to a resounding mandate from the Maldivian people.

Diplomatic discussions with other nations that the President can conduct are ongoing. We have officially requested India to remove its troops stationed in the Maldives. Deliberations on this issue are ongoing.

As per the most recent discussions, military personnel on one of the three aviation platforms will be recalled before March 10, 2024. The military personnel on the remaining two platforms will also be recalled by May 10, 2024, Muizzu told Parliament.

Following the most recent bilateral discussions, India announced on February 2 that both countries had reached a consensus on a "set of mutually workable solutions" to sustain the operations of Indian aviation platforms within the Maldives. Presently, Indian military personnel are stationed in the Maldives to oversee the operation of two helicopters and an aircraft, which have conducted numerous medical evacuations and humanitarian missions.

These Indian platforms have been integral in delivering humanitarian aid and facilitating medical evacuations for the people of the Maldives over the past few years.