Maldives defence minister Ghassan Maumoon has admitted the Maldives military does not have the pilots to operate three aircraft donated to Male by India. Speaking at a press conference in Male on Sunday, Maumoon had admitted that there aren’t any people in the military licensed to fly the aircraft. The three aircraft included the Dorner aircraft and two helicopters.
According to the Maldivian news portal, Adhadhu, Maumoon was quoted as saying that the completion of training by the pilots to fly the aircraft was the reason the Maldivian military could not fly the aircraft. “As it was a training that required passing various stages, our soldiers had not reached completion due to various reasons. Therefore, there aren’t any people in our force at the moment who are licensed or fully operational to fly the AHL platforms and Dornier,” Maumoon said in response to a reporter’s question.
The defence minister’s remarks come after India recently removed 76 soldiers from Maldives at the insistence of current President Mohamed Muizzu. Muizzu, who had won the general elections in September last year stated in December 2023 that after talks with New Delhi, India had agreed to remove the military personnel. “In the discussions we had, the Indian government has agreed to remove Indian soldiers,” Muizzu said.
The last Indian soldier left the Maldives on May 10.
The admission by Maumoon is a major embarrassment for the new government. According to the Maldivian news portal, the current administration has criticised the previous administration when they were in the opposition over this issue, claiming that there were capable pilots in the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).
After high-level talks in February this year between the two nations, the news portal The Maldives Journal stated in a report on February 28 that a “civilian team to operate and maintain the aircraft has now arrived in Maldives. The Indian civilian team arrived in Addu early last night to complete the handover/takeover process.”
Maldivian foreign minister Moosa Zameer confirmed this and said the agreement to replace the Indian soldiers with civilians also included provisions for training local pilots. He said on Sunday that the agreement to replace the Indian soldiers with civilians also included provisions for training local pilots.
The Maldives’ proximity to India, barely 70 nautical miles from the island of Minicoy in Lakshadweep and 300 nautical miles from the mainland’s western coast, and its location at the hub of commercial sea lanes running through the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) gives it significant strategic importance to New Delhi.
(Agencies and local reports)
