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.