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Centre Hasn't Given Any Instructions on Withdrawal From Maldives: Indian Navy Chief

© AP Photo / Rajanish KakadeChief of the Indian Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar, second righ, attends a ceremony to decommission Indian Naval ships Nishank and Akshay after rendering 32 years of service at Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, India, Friday June 3, 2022.
Chief of the Indian Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar, second righ, attends a ceremony to decommission Indian Naval ships Nishank and Akshay after rendering 32 years of service at Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, India, Friday June 3, 2022. - Sputnik India, 1920, 25.01.2024
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Relations between Male and New Delhi are under strain over the former's decision to drift from its "India First" policy besides setting a March 15 deadline for the pullout of Indian servicemen from the country.
The Indian government has not given any instructions to withdraw the country's troops from Maldives, Navy chief R. Hari Kumar, confirmed on Thursday.
"We await instructions, whatever is the decision," Kumar said in response to media queries if South Block (headquarters of India's Defence Ministry) has issued any orders regarding bringing soldiers back from the Maldives.
The pullout of Indian defense personnel from the Maldives has been a key demand of the archipelago's current President Mohamed Muizzu, which has spiked tensions between the two nations.
Unlike his predecessor Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who followed an "India First" policy, Muizzu is perceived to be pro-China and even went on a state tour of Beijing after being elected to power late last year.
Subsequently, Beijing and Male elevated their ties, stressing that they were now "strategic cooperative partners".
However, Muizzu's "anti-India" stance has not gone well with the island nation's opposition, which has criticized his government for irking an ally that has stood by the country through thick and thin.
"The current administration appears to be pivoting towards an anti-India stance. Both the MDP and The Democrats believe alienating any development partner, especially the country's most long-standing ally, will be extremely detrimental to the long-term development of the country," the archipelago's opposition parties, that go by the name of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the Democrats noted in a statement on Wednesday.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldives’ President Mohamed Muizzu held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai on Thursday. - Sputnik India, 1920, 15.01.2024
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