New Delhi: After the Maldivian government said that India agreed to replace the military personnel in one of the three aviation platforms by March 10 this year, former diplomat Jitendra Tripathi, who has worked in various capacities in the Indian missions in Maldives, Oman, Zambia, and Venezuela, in an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat said, “India will have to be concerned and vigilant if we are replaced by Chinese armed personnel and aircraft because then the whole argument of Maldives that it doesn’t want any foreign troops in their land tumbles."
He noted that India needs to convey a message to Male that if they have not allowed Indian military personnel for rescue operations nor should they allow China to do that. Recently, a 14-year-old boy succumbed to death after President Mohammed Muizzu's govt refused approval to use India's Dornier aircraft to airlift the teenager.
The former diplomat who was stationed there during the 1988 coup recalled what exactly happened during the coup 36 years back. He shed light on how the Indian government within a few hours of the request by the then Maldivian government, sent four paratroopers, and the coup was thwarted.
He said, "The coup was the beginning of India’s role of first responder in the Indian Ocean. Since then India has been responding to the SOS from Maldives. Now the problem is that China is trying to set its foothold in the Island nation and Maldives is the most important nation in the Indian Ocean region as most of the cargo via sea route passes near Maldives”.
On November 3, 1988, a group of Maldivian rebels led by Abdullah Luthufi, and Sri Lanka's People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) attempted to overthrow the government of then-president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in the small island nation in the Indian Ocean. President Gayoom's government quickly sought assistance from the international community, including the then-Soviet Union, Singapore, Pakistan, the US, the UK, and India. But the one country that stood for Maldives was India.
He said that it would be a foolish act if Male fell prey to China and strained ties with India, adding, “The Maldivian public will at a certain point of time in future make their political leaders realize that keeping good relations with India is always in favor of their good”.
The Maldivian foreign ministry on Friday said that during a High-level Core Group meeting between Maldives and India, both sides agreed that the Government of India will replace the military personnel in one of the three aviation platforms by 10 March 2024, and will complete replacing military personnel in the other two platforms by 10 May 2024.
It was agreed that the third meeting of the High-Level Core Group will be held in Male on a mutually agreeable date during the last week of February.
While India only said that both sides agreed on a set of mutually workable solutions to enable the continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and medical services to the people of Maldives, Male said India will replace the military personnel in one of the three aviation platforms by 10 March 2024 and will complete replacing military personnel in the other two platforms by 10 May 2024.
This means India agreed to withdraw troops as per the demand of President Muizzu, but there is no clarity as to who will replace the staff.
It is worth mentioning that India and the Maldives share long-standing diplomatic relations. New Delhi has consistently offered support to Male whenever the archipelago nation is hit with any crisis, be it humanitarian or security-related.
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