Maldives’ Muizzu Government’s drone agreement with Turkiye

Male, Maldives – Maldives’ deal with Turkiye for drones comes just days after the Maldives asked India to withdraw its troops stationed there by 15th March. At the same time, the Maldivian Government is busy strengthening its relations with one anti-Indian country to threaten India. The Maldives under pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu has signed a deal with Turkiye to buy drones to patrol its exclusive economic zone waters. So far, New Delhi and Male jointly patrolled this region in the Indian Ocean. Maldives-based Adhadhu on Tuesday reported that Male had signed an agreement with a Turkish company to purchase military drones to patrol the country’s waters. It has allocated $37 million from the state’s contingency budget to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF). New Delhi has 88 or so military personnel in the Maldives to operate and maintain India-sponsored radar stations and surveillance aircraft, including the Dornier plane and two Dhruv helicopters gifted to Male over the past decade.