India will “replace” its military personnel in the Maldives in two phases by May 10, the Government of Maldives has stated after the second meeting of the high-level core group between the two sides that was held here on Friday.
The decision came in the backdrop of Malé‘s demand to end the presence of Indian military personnel in the archipelago nation, which was further complicated because of social media controversy over remarks by three ministers of the Mohamed Muizzu government that were found to be disrespectful of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Both sides agreed that the Government of India will replace the military personnel in one of the three aviation platform(s) by 10 March 2024, and will complete replacing military personnel in the other two platforms by 10 May, 2024,” a statement issued by the Maldivian side announced. The statement, however, did not clarify if the military personnel of India will be replaced by civilian operators or by another batch of armed forces personnel.
