Male snubs Delhi again, likely to return gifted Dhruv Helicopters

[Orca]

NEW DELHI: At a time when relations between India and the Maldives are clearly in a free fall, Male has asked the Indian government to take back one of the two naval helicopters New Delhi had gifted to the Indian Ocean archipelago.

(interestingly Banya is begging to male and asking whats the issue )

Official sources said they were still discussing with the Abdulla Yameen government what the real issue was but a top Maldives government source told TOI that Male wanted a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft instead of the "Dhruv" Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) which India had given to Male. The chopper which Maldives wants India to take back operates from Addu atoll.

The development is certain to further strain India's relations with the Maldives and will also raise questions on India's defence and security cooperation with Male at atime when China is making deep inroads into the strategically located country with its connectivity and other infrastructure projects.

Moreover, Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited Maldives on Sunday, becoming the first foreign dignitary to visit the 1,190-island archipelago after the 45-day Emergency was lifted there last month. "We are closely watching the situation," said an Indian government source.

Seeking to justify the decision, sources in the Yameen government also said that the Letter of Exchange (LoE) for the ALH at Addu had expired. The LoE though is renewed every two years and this is for the first time that Male has chosen to not renew it. Among other things, the stay of Indian personnel in the Maldives is also facilitated by the LoE.

Male is said to be also considering asking India to remove the other Indian ALH too which operates from the Laamu atoll. Sources in Yameen government, however, denied that any decision had been taken on the Laamu atoll chopper.

Laamu in southern Maldives is a sensitive location as that's where China is said to be considering building a port. Recent evacuation of inhabitants from the Gaadhoo island there, and Chinese presence in the region, has again raised questions about the intentions of the Yameen government.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...eturns-gift/articleshow/63603420.cms?from=mdr

 

[Shabi1]

No it's not Bajwa effect. It's just a difficult helicopter to maintain. They might be attractively priced but after sales support seems to be an issue.

http://www.financialexpress.com/eco...-row-ecuador-plans-to-return-choppers/453073/

 

[Manidabest]

very good but it has nuthing to do with bajwa trip..

 

[INDIAPOSITIVE]

SOURCE: TNN


At a time when relations between India and the Maldives are clearly in a free fall, Male has asked the Indian government to take back one of the two naval helicopters New Delhi had gifted to the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Official sources said they were still discussing with the Abdulla Yameengovernment what the real issue was but a top Maldives government source told TOI that Male wanted a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft instead of the “Dhruv” Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) which India had given to Male. The chopper which Maldives wants India to take back operates from Addu atoll.

The development is certain to further strain India’s relations with the Maldives and will also raise questions on India’s defence and security cooperation with Male at atime when China is making deep inroads into the strategically located country with its connectivity and other infrastructure projects.

Moreover, Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited Maldives on Sunday, becoming the first foreign dignitary to visit the 1,190-island archipelago after the 45-day Emergency was lifted there last month. “We are closely watching the situation,” said an Indian government source.

Seeking to justify the decision, sources in the Yameen government also said that the Letter of Exchange (LoE) for the ALH at Addu had expired. The LoE though is renewed every two years and this is for the first time that Male has chosen to not renew it. Among other things, the stay of Indian personnel in the Maldives is also facilitated by the LoE.

Male is said to be also considering asking India to remove the other Indian ALH too which operates from the Laamu atoll. Sources in Yameen government, however, denied that any decision had been taken on the Laamu atoll chopper.

Laamu in southern Maldives is a sensitive location as that’s where China is said to be considering building a port. Recent evacuation of inhabitants from the Gaadhoo island there, and Chinese presence in the region, has again raised questions about the intentions of the Yameen government.

India, with an eye firmly on China, has invested heavily in Maldives in providing military aid, training and “capacity-building” over the last several years. Apart from gifting a fast-attack craft, India has stationed six pilots and over a dozen ground personnel to operate the ALHs and help the Maldivian National Defence Forces.

An Indian Navy Dornier maritime reconnaissance aircraft and a warship alternatively also make a weekly sortie to the Maldives to patrol its exclusive economic zone under a long-standing bilateral agreement.

India is also helping Maldives in setting up 10 coastal surveillance radar system (CSRS) stations, each with navigation radars, electrooptic sensors and AIS (automatic identification system) transponders. India has helped set up similar CSRS stations in Seychelles and Mauritius, among other countries in the IOR.

 

[Sheikh Rauf]

india is losing its station to China, Pakistan for CPEC its important to have male is with our group. They can have Mauritius all they want.

 

[my2cents]

This govt. is playing politics in awarding new contracts and rescinding old obligations. We have seen how they behaved with airport deal with GMR of India. GMR won the suit with Male government recently.

http://maldivesindependent.com/business/maldives-pays-us271m-in-damages-to-indias-gmr-127767

 

[Orca]

No it's not Bajwa effect. It's just a difficult helicopter to maintain. They might be attractively priced but after sales support seems to be an issue.

http://www.financialexpress.com/eco...-row-ecuador-plans-to-return-choppers/453073/

thats the maybe one of the reason sir but i am hoping something different

 

[NOWorNEVER]

New Delhi: India and Maldives have hit a rough patch after the island nation was engulfed in a political crisis which resulted in a state of emergency in the country and also because of its growing bonhomie with another superpower in the Indian Ocean region – China. And this time around, Male has asked New Delhi to take back one of the two naval helicopters that were gifted to the Indian Ocean archipelago. The official sources told the Times of India that the discussions are carried out with the Maldives government to figure out the cause of the whole turn of events.

However, a top source at the Male government told TOI that it wanted it did not want "Dhruv" Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) but a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft. India had gifted a "Dhruv" to the Maldives, which is operational from Addu Atoll. This new development will only result in ruining the already strained relations that India and Maldives share today. It also brings to notice the ties between the two countries in an aspect of defence and security cooperation, that too, at a time when China is carrying out the construction of the infrastructural project at strategic locations in the Maldives.

In another concerning development, Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited Male on Sunday. He became the first foreign dignitary to visit the island country after it ended the State of Emergency. To this, the India government source said that they are closely watching the situation. The sources at the Maldives government said, justifying the move, the Letter of Exchange for the helicopter had expired, which is renewed every two years. This was the first time that the Maldives has decided not to do so.

There are speculations that Male is going to return another ALH also that is currently operating from Laamu Atoll, but the sources at the government have denied it. Laamu is a sensitive location in the southern Maldives as Beijing is mulling its options of constructing a port. Also read | China meddling in Maldives' internal affairs: Ex-Foreign Minister


With this increasing friendship between Beijing and Male, India has its eyes on China, which has invested a great deal in Maldives, in addition to giving them military aid and "capacity-building" for the past several years, whereas, India had gifted Male two aircrafts along with six pilots and a dozen of ground personnel to operate those aircrafts.

https:www.timesnownews.com/amp/india/article/maldives-india-gifted-naval-helicopters-gifts-indian-ocean-dhruv-advances-light-helicopter-maldives-government-pakistan-china/213681

 

[Maxpane]

Interesting incidents happening in this world

 

[Tshering22]

Good.

We don't mind taking back our assets.

Maldivians can considering migrating to China when their atolls completely drown in the ocean.

 

[t-birds]

After Declining India's Naval Exercise Invite, Maldives Returns Gifted Helicopter

Over the last several years, India has been investing in the Maldives with an eye firmly on China. India not only gifted aircraft but also stationed six pilots and over a dozen ground personnel to operate

New Delhi, Apr 4: Days after declining India’s invitation to participate in a naval exercise, Maldives once again snubbed New Delhi by returning a gifted naval helicopter. The Maldives has asked the Indian government to take back a helicopter New Delhi had gifted to the Indian Ocean archipelago. Male reportedly wanted a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft instead of the “Dhruv” Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) which India had gifted.

The chopper which the Maldives wants India to take back operates from Addu Atoll. Male may ask India to take back the other Indian ALH too which operates from the Laamu Atoll. The Abdulla Yameen government decided to return the gifted helicopter as the Letter of Exchange (LoE) for the ALH at Addu had expired, sources told a leading newspaper. The LoE can be renewed every two years but the Maldives, for the first time, has chosen to not renew it. the ALHs and help the Maldivian National Defence Forces. It is also helping Maldives in setting up 10 coastal surveillance radar system (CSRS) stations equipped with navigation radars, electro-optic sensors and AIS (automatic identification system) transponders.

However, ties between India and Maldives nosedived after Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen declared an emergency on February 5 following an order by the country’s Supreme Court to release a group of opposition leaders, who had been convicted in widely criticised trials. India has issued a number of statements, reacting strongly to the imposition of emergency on February 5 and subsequent extension by a month.

However, China, which looks at the Maldives as a major participant in its 21st century Maritime Silk Road plan in the Indian Ocean, put up a defence of President Yameen, stonewalling international pressure and enabling him to stay in power during the current crisis.

http://www.india.com/news/india/ano...&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fullarticle

 

[war&peace]

If India fulfils their demands, there will be newer demands....keep on fulfilling their demands.

 

[UKBengali]

Looks like no-one believes in the self-proclaimed Indian "supa-powa".

 

[Skies]

Really a great show by Maldives.

Love.

 

[626]