The incident comes against the backdrop of strained diplomatic relations between India and Maldives.
Maldives President Denies Approval To Indian Plane
A 14-year-old Maldivian boy died on Saturday amid allegations that President Mohammed Muizzu denied permission for the use of an Indian Dornier aircraft that could have potentially saved his life, local media reported. The teen, battling a combination of a brain tumour and a stroke, saw his family desperately seeking an air ambulance to airlift him from the remote island of Wilmington in Gaaf Alif Villingili to Maldive’s capital Male, where advanced medical care awaited, the report said.
The grief-stricken father, speaking to local media outlet Adhahu, lamented the lack of a prompt response, stating, “We called Island Aviation to get him to Male immediately after the stroke, but they did not answer our calls. They answered the phone at 8:30 am on Thursday. The solution is to have an air ambulance for such cases.”
The diplomatic tension between India and the Maldives has spiked in recent months, particularly after President Muizzu assumed office in November last year. The new president has indicated a shift in foreign policy, signaling closer ties with China and a departure from the previous “India first” approach.
Maldives Issues Ultimatum To India For Withdrawal Of Troops By March 15
Bilateral ties between the Maldives and India – that have hit rock-bottom in recent weeks – have taken another tumble after Male formally asked Delhi to withdraw its troops from the island nation by 15 March.
The demand was conveyed at the first meeting of a high-level core group between the two sides held on Sunday in the Maldivian capital of Male.
“Indian military personnel cannot stay in the Maldives. That’s the policy of this administration,” Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, the public policy secretary in President Mohamed Muizzu’s office, said. India is looking at options to replace the 77 military personnel that are at the centre of a controversy with the Maldives and the next month’s core group meeting scheduled here would discuss the topics threadbare.
The personnel are currently deployed in the Maldives to operate two advanced light helicopters and one Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft, which are involved in search and rescue missions, EEZ surveillance and joint hydrography missions.
