Maldives announced on Friday that India has agreed to a phased replacement of Indian military personnel stationed in the archipelago, starting from March 10 and completing the process by May 10. The announcement followed the second meeting of the India-Maldives High-Level Core Group in Delhi earlier in the day.
According to a statement from the Maldivian foreign ministry, “both sides agreed that the Government of India will replace the military personnel in one of the three aviation platforms by March 10, 2024, and will complete replacing military personnel in the other two platforms by May 10, 2024.”
The Indian readout did not mention these specific dates but mentioned, “Both sides also agreed on a set of mutually workable solutions to enable the continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and medvac services to the people of Maldives,” according to the external affairs ministry.
The use of the term “replace” in the Maldivian statement marks a shift from their previous demand for the withdrawal of military personnel. In the first meeting of the core group last month, Maldives claimed that “both sides expressed willingness to intensify cooperation and agreed to fast-track the withdrawal of Indian military personnel,” while India maintained that discussions were focused on finding a mutually workable solution to enable the continued operation of Indian aviation platforms.
This second meeting of the core group occurred less than a month after the first meeting on January 14 in Male. The relations between the two nations had strained due to offensive remarks by three Maldivian ministers against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following his Lakshadweep visit, which was portrayed by the ruling ecosystem as a challenge to the island tourism offered by the atoll nation.
Since President Mohamed Muizzu took office in the Maldives in November, Male has been publicly advocating for the early withdrawal of Indian military personnel from the archipelago, aligning with his election campaign slogan of “India Out.” The military personnel are present to operate the two helicopters and Dornier aircraft that India gifted to Male in 2013 and 2020, respectively.