Maldives Defence Minister admits their pilots can’t fly aircraft given by India

The Maldives’s Defence Minister Ghassan Maumoon has admitted that its military lacks pilots capable of operating three aircraft donated by India, days after the last of the Indian defence personnel left the island nation.

“There aren’t any people licenced to fly the aircraft,” said Defence Minister Ghassan Maumoon at a media briefing in Male on Sunday.

Maumoon explained that Maldivian soldiers who began training to fly the aircraft under previous administrations were unable to complete the program due to unspecified reasons.

The Indian personnel left the Maldives on Friday, adhering to a deadline set in February as part of an agreement between the two nations. This agreement followed a demand made by Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, known for his pro-China stance, shortly after taking office in November 2023.

The Indian military personnel, stationed in the Maldives to operate two platforms for helicopters and a Dornier aircraft, had left Male and returned to India by Friday, as per the May 10 deadline set following an agreement between the two countries in February in New Delhi.

The move to replace Indian military personnel with civilians is seen as a setback to India’s efforts to counter China’s influence in the small, strategically located country to its south.

Since coming into power, Muizzu’s government has entered several agreements with China to boost economic ties and has sidelined India in several projects.

The Maldives signed a military assistance pact with China in March. It has also allowed a Chinese research vessel to dock at its port, in India’s backyard.

While New Delhi’s ties with Male, the capital of the Maldives, grew significantly during the previous administration, pro-China Muizzu campaigned on an “India Out” platform, saying that the Indian military presence in the country compromised Maldivian sovereignty.

The 77 military personnel whom Muizzu wanted India to take back are mainly pilots, crew and technicians who operate two helicopters and an aircraft used to assist the island nation in maritime surveillance, search and rescue operations and medical evacuations. But in the Maldives, the presence of the men was perceived as “boots on the ground.”