Key Points
The Maldivess 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...
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 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...
While New Delhis 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..
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