MALE: Asserting that Maldives is not a small nation, President Mohamed Muizzu has said that the steps taken by his government to ensure the Indian Ocean island nation’s security on its own should not concern any “external parties”.
The pro-China Maldivian leader’s comments came days after the first batch of Indian military personnel operating a helicopter gifted by India left the island nation after Muizzu stepped up his anti-India rhetoric.
Muizzu had asked India to withdraw nearly 90 military personnel from the island nation soon after he assumed office in November last year. India has agreed to replace the military personnel with civilians and continue the operations of two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft provided to the country for humanitarian and medical evacuation services.
Muizzu’s latest comments came while while speaking at a ceremony to launch the Maldives National Defence Force’s (MNDF) Air Corps and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), a press release by the President’s Office said.
Muizzu said the country was capable of monitoring its jurisdiction. “Maldives is an independent and sovereign nation and that surveillance of the Maldives’ jurisdiction should not concern any external parties,” he said, without naming any country. He affirmed the importance of the Maldives “navigating its course towards self-reliance”.