Amid the raging diplomatic tension between India and the Maldives, Male has set a March 15 deadline for New Delhi to withdraw all its troops from the island country.
Interestingly, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s direction comes a day after he concluded his visit to China where he held extensive talks with President Xi Jinping.
"Indian military personnel cannot stay in the Maldives. This is the policy of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and that of this administration,” Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, the public policy secretary at the President's Office, said.
There are 88 Indian military personnel in the Maldives, as per the government figures.
There were 24 Indian military personnel to manage the first helicopter, 25 Indians to manage the Dornier aircraft, 26 personnel to manage the second helicopter, and two more for maintenance and engineering.
According to Maldivian media reports, both the countries have set up a high-level core group to negotiate the withdrawal of troops and the panel held its first meeting at the Foreign Ministry Headquarters in Male' on Sunday morning. Indian High Commissioner Munu Mahawar was also present at the meeting.
New Delhi has not responded to the media reports so far.
India and the Maldives have been locked in a diplomatic row after a few ministers of the Muizzu government mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media over his recent visit to Lakshadweep.
Male placed three deputy ministers under suspension in an attempt to defuse the tension even as India summoned the Maldivian envoy in New Delhi and lodged a strong protest over the alleged derogatory remarks made against the prime minister.
Muizzu, a pro-China leader, had demanded the withdrawal of Indian troops from the Maldives soon after taking oath as the president on November 17 last year.
Muizzu came to power with his "India Out" campaign and withdrawal of Indian troops from the Maldives was his key election promise.
On Saturday, concluding his China visit, Muizzu had lambasted India, saying nobody can bully his country.
"We may be small, but it doesn't give anybody the right to bully us,” he said at a press conference.
Amid the tension with India, Male has been trying to deepen its bilateral relationship with China with both the countries signing 20 agreements, including cooperation in tourism, during Muizzu’s Beijing visit.
