Maldives Defense Minister Ghassan Maumoon had on May 11 accused the Indian Army of landing a secret helicopter in Thimmarafushi in 2019.
India on Tuesday (May 14) rejected Maldives’ claim that Indian military helicopter pilots had conducted a covert operation in Maldives in 2019. The Indian High Commission in Maldives said that Indian aviation companies have always worked as per Maldivian rules.
In fact, on May 11, Maldives Defense Minister Ghassan Maumoon had accused the Indian Army that in 2019, the Army had landed a secret helicopter in Thimarafushi, Maldives. Maumoon said that I saw the report of the National Security Service of the Parliament Committee, in which this thing has come to light.
Maldives Defense Minister Ghassan Maumoon said that in 2019, Indian military helicopter pilots conducted a secret operation in Maldives.
India rejected all allegations
The Indian High Commission has rejected all the allegations. The High Commission said that all the operations conducted in Maldives were conducted in coordination with the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF).
According to the High Commission, an emergency landing was made at Thimarafushi on October 9, 2019, keeping in mind the safety of the crew, but approval was taken from Air Traffic Control (ATC).
However, the MNDF reported on 11 May that Indian troops had not informed the Maldivian military about the landing.
‘Maldive soldiers could not complete training’
Ghassan Maumoon, while answering the question about Indian soldiers leaving Maldives, had said that the Maldivian Army does not have pilots capable of operating Indian planes. Some soldiers had started training to fly them under previous agreements, but they could not pass the different stages of training and the training could not be completed. Therefore, at present there is no person in our army who has a license to fly two helicopters and Dornier or can operate them fully.”
At the same time, contrary to Ghassan’s statement, when Muizzu was in the opposition, he used to criticize the previous government regarding Indian soldiers. Muizzu and his party claimed that the Maldivian Army has trained pilots, yet the government is calling Indian soldiers to Maldives.
The picture is of the Indian helicopter present in Maldives. 88 Indian soldiers were present in Maldives to operate them.
Indian soldiers came to give training
Actually, Indian soldiers had gone to Maldives during the tenure of former Presidents Mohammad Nasheed, Abdullah Yameen and Ibrahim Mohammad Solih. The job of these soldiers was to train the Maldivian army. However, Maldivian soldiers could not complete the training. Due to this, under the agreement, Indian civilians will now also provide training to Maldivian pilots.
What were Indian soldiers doing in Maldives?
There were about 88 Indian soldiers in Maldives. He handled the operation of two helicopters and one aircraft. Usually they are used in rescue or government works. Indian helicopters and aircraft in Maldives had been helping the people there in humanitarian aid and medical emergencies. Now civilian technical staff has been sent to handle their operations.
India gifted two helicopters to Maldives in 2010 and 2013 and one small aircraft in 2020. There was a lot of uproar over this in Maldives. Under the leadership of Muizzu, the opposition had accused the then President Solih of adopting ‘India First’ policy.
Muijju’s election campaign was India Out Campaign.
Last year, Maldives President Mohammed Muizzu had made the issue of expelling Indian soldiers from the country in his election campaign. He named it India Out Campaign. After victory in the elections, Maldives had set a deadline of May 10 for Indian soldiers to leave the country. However, before this the Indian soldiers returned from Maldives.