Male, 16 March

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 on Friday. Asserting that Maldives isn't a small nation, Muizzu said the country is 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 and remaining an independent and sovereign nation in every aspect," the press release said. Muizzu said that Maldives' independence and sovereignty "must be in the common interest of the entire populace, despite varying ideologies". He added that this would not impede the Maldives’ close relations with all countries.

Muizzu, seen as a pro-China leader, has affirmed that no Indian military personnel, not even those in civilian clothing, would be present inside his country after May 10. He rode to power last year on an anti-India stance, and within hours of taking oath, demanded India to remove its personnel from the strategically located archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean.