Modi Magic : Two Dhruv Helicopters to Now Stay in Maldives, Says New Defence Minister Mariya Didi

24 hours after new President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was sworn in, the new Defence Minister of Maldives, Mariya Didi, has said that Male won’t be returning back the two Indian helicopters which New Delhi had gifted.

Maldives under Abdulla Yameen, who was defeated by Solih September election, had asked India to withdraw two helicopters along with 50 military personnel this year.

Speaking to WION, Mariya Didi said, “It’s not in our culture to ask neighbours to take back what they give.”

One chopper is deployed in the Indian Ocean nation’s southernmost island of Addu and the other in the strategically-located Lammu.

The helicopters were gifted in 2013 by India on Maldives’ request.

“The helicopters can be put to good use for medical evacuations and for search and rescue,” Mariya told WION, in her first interview to an Indian organisation after taking charge as the first female Defence Minister of the island nation.

Maldives’ former ambassador to India, Ahmed Mohamed had told news agency told Reuters that “They were very useful in the past but with the development of adequate infrastructure, facilities and resources we are now in a position to handle medical evacuations on our own.”

Yameen had junked pro India “India first policy” and increasingly aligned himself to China. Yameen’s predecessor Mohamed Nasheed had indicated that China was responsible for the development and told WION a few months ago that Yameen was under pressure from “external forces to remove these helicopters”.

Solih took oath as the new President of Maldives on Saturday in the presence of 17 foreign dignitaries and representatives from 46 countries, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In his first address as the President, Solih said, “We will endeavour to fortify existing ties with India. Maldives will hereupon bolster its shared role to retain enduring peace and harmony of the Indian Ocean.”

In his 100 days goals, Solih has said, he will “endeavour to fortify the existing ties the Maldives has had with India.”

India was the only country invited at the Head of State/Government level at the presidential oath-taking ceremony and PM Modi was the first foreign leader Solih met after being sworn in as President.

Both Maldives and India also issued a joint statement calling to strengthen ties and ease visa regime. The new Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid will be visiting India on November 26.As President Ram Nath Kovind visits Vietnam, the government is hoping to operationalise a $500 million line of credit (LC) to Hanoi to boost defence engagement with the southeast Asian nation at the heart of India’s Act East Policy.

PM Narendra Modi had announced the LC more than two years ago and despite the focus on defence and security ties in India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the two countries have not yet been able to sign the framework agreement required to implement it.

This is all the more puzzling as Vietnam has in the recent past acknowledged defence cooperation as the central pillar of its relationship with India and has encouraged exchange of senior-level delegations, consultation mechanisms and stronger cooperation with Indian armed forces.

While announcing the LC during his visit to Vietnam in September, 2016, Modi was said to have reaffirmed India’s “significant” interest in promoting defence industry cooperation between the two sides. He had also announced a grant of $5 million for the construction of an Army Software Park at the Telecommunications University in Nha Trang.

Official sources here said though that the delay in the implementation of the LC probably had something to do with Vietnam stepping up scrutiny of agreements for foreign loans. Vietnam doesn’t want foreign debt to exceed 50 per cent of its GDP and public debt 65 per cent of GDP.

There might be other issues involved here too as diplomatic sources told TOI that Vietnam would not mind utilizing the LC in other areas like development of public infrastructure. India though, they said, has told Hanoi that the LC is meant only for, as Modi had put it, deeper defence cooperation.

The government wants Vietnam to use the LC for defence procurement from India. There’s already a template for that in the form of a US $ 100 million LC which India had earlier extended to Vietnam and which Hanoi used to sign a contract with India for purchase of offshore high-speed patrol boats from India.

The India-Vietnam joint statement issued after the visit to India by then President Tran Dai Quang in March, 2018, urged early signing of a framework agreement for the $500 million LC for defence industry only.

Sources here ruled out suggestions that Vietnam was delaying the agreement with India for fear of upsetting China, its giant northern neighbour. Significantly though, on the Quad mechanism, Vietnam has made it clear that it won’t support any “ganging up” exercise against any country. It won’t support any military alliance and will also avoid supporting any joint military exercise by such an alliance, let alone participating in it. Bilaterally, however, it agrees with India that it is essential to strengthen cooperation in maritime domain, including anti-piracy, security of sea lanes and exchange of white shipping information.

Source: DNA India

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