Welcome back to India Defence Online...If you haven't done so yet, subscribe to the RSS feed as it will save you a lot of time. Thanks for following the site!
India is all set to create exclusive defence ties with Maldives and augment the military capabilities of Maldives.
Indian Defence Minister A.K. Anthony will be visiting Maldives shortly with a high-level delegation comprising of naval officers to allay fears of possible terrorist attacks on Maldives.
An exclusive security arrangement with India will be put in place and the island nation will not approach other regional countries for similar agreements.
India aims to supply various military hardware and surveillance equipment to boost the security of Maldives and enable Maldives to counter critical scenario’s of attacks.
India will be sharing its own experiences of handling its coastal territories as well as its islands from possible enemy infiltration.
India intends to put Maldives under its security grid and will permanently base two helicopters in the country to enhance its surveillance capabilities and ability to respond swiftly to threats.
One helicopter from the Coast Guard is likely to be handed over during the Defence Minister’s visit while another from the Navy will be cleared for transfer shortly. The Southern Naval Command will overlook the inclusion of Maldives into the Indian security grid.
In addition, India will help set up radars for seamless coverage of approaching vessels and aircraft. The coastal radar chain in Maldives will be networked with the Indian coastal radar system.
India has already undertaken a project to install radars along its entire coastline. The radar chains of the two countries will be interlinked and a central control room in India’s Coastal Command will get a seamless radar picture.
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) will carry out regular Dornier sorties over the island nation to look out for suspicious movements or vessels.
India and Maldives have had close ties in the past with the Indian Navy transferring a fast attack craft to the island nation.
The INS Tillanchang was gifted to the country in 2006 and a large number of officers of the armed forces of Maldives are given training in various officers training academies in India.
The Indian Army also conducts a joint exercise ‘Ekueuvrin’ with the Maldivian National Defence Forces on counter-terrorism while the Indian Coast Guard conducts an exercise on maritime rescue operations and patrolling of seas around Maldives called ‘Dosti’.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
