Maldives: Maldives will deploy first drone amid tension with India, focus on strengthening security forces

Tension seems to be increasing at the diplomatic level between Maldives and India. On one hand, an Indian Army helicopter from Maldives has returned to India carrying soldiers, while immediately after this, Maldivian President Mohammad Muizzu has said that ‘Maldives is not a small country.’

Drone will be deployed in the Indian Ocean
At a ceremony, Muizzu announced that ‘Indian Ocean will be the first drone to be deployed for the security of the country. Along with this, emphasis will be laid on strengthening the security forces. Muizzu made this statement during a function. The Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) Air Corps and drones were launched at the ceremony. During this, Muizzu announced to strengthen the military forces of Maldives.

The number of coast guards will double
Muizzu announced that his government would double the number of coast guards and also increase air power. Maldivian President Muizzoo, who supports China, is continuously giving anti-India statements. He has clearly said that after May 10, no Indian soldier will be present inside his country.

Muizzu’s anti-India campaign and bad words
The political circumstances of Maldives have also changed after Muizzu came to power. After the return of the first batch of Indian Army from Maldives, Muizzu had said that ‘Whatever he did, he did it for the security of his country. This should not cause problems to outside parties. Before becoming President, Muizzu had launched India Out campaign in the country. After this, in November last year he became the President of Maldives. As soon as he became the President, he had asked India to ‘withdraw about 90 of its soldiers from the island nation.’ Only after this, Indian soldiers from Maldives started returning to their country. On one hand, the bad words against India and on the other hand, many campaigns in support of China make it clear that the shadow of China is looming over Maldives.