MALE: Weeks after India withdrew its military personnel from the Maldives, the two helicopters gifted by New Delhi to the island nation are operated regularly with an MNDF soldier onboard, a Maldivian news portal reported on Tuesday.
Adhadhu.com quoted an unnamed airport official who said that a soldier of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) “is always onboard when the helicopters are flown.”
President Mohamed Muizzu, a pro-China leader, rode to power in September last year with a pledge to remove all Indian military personnel from his country. India has replaced military pilots with civilians to keep operations of the aviation platforms going.
Two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft donated by India have been used for hundreds of medical evacuations and humanitarian missions in the Maldives.