Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has reportedly said all Indian troops stationed in the country will be withdrawn by May 10. He said the withdrawal process is already underway and that the troops stationed on the second platform will be withdrawn within the current month, while those on the third platform will be withdrawn by May 10, psmnews.mv reported on Wednesday.
After coming to power in November last year, President Mohamed Muizzu, who is considered pro-China, asked India to withdraw its troops from Maldives.
Eighty-eight Indian military personnel were operating two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft which were providing humanitarian and medical evacuation services in this archipelagic nation.
After rounds of talks, India started pulling out its troops from the Maldives in March. As many as 25 Indian military personnel deployed in the southernmost atoll of Addu had left the island nation ahead of March 10, the official start of the withdrawal agreed by both New Delhi and Male.
After a high-level meeting in New Delhi between the two sides, India agreed to replace its military personnel operating the three aviation platforms in the Maldives by May 10. The first batch left the island nation well before March 10.
State-owned Public Service Media reported that Muizzu reiterated his commitment to preserving Maldives' independence, emphasising that his government is dedicated to fulfilling this promise.
Muizzu, who rode to power on an anti-India stance, has repeatedly affirmed that no Indian military personnel, not even those in civilian clothing, would be present inside his country after May 10.
Under Muizzu, Male has also signed a defence agreement with the Chinese military under which the People's Liberation Army will assist the Maldivian security and defence forces.