An agreement has been signed between the Maldives Ministry of Defence and the Office for International Military Cooperation of the People's Republic of China, aiming to strengthen bilateral relations.
The Maldives has signed a military agreement with the People's Republic of China.
The Ministry of Defense in a post on X said a military assistance agreement has been signed by Minister of Defence Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon and Deputy Director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of the People's Republic of China, Major General Zhang Baoqun.
While the specific details of the agreement were not disclosed, the Ministry highlighted that the agreement to provide military assistance gratis aims to strengthen the bilateral ties between Maldives and China.
While a military agreement has been signed with China, several military agreements were signed with India during the previous government, which had faced significant criticism.
The current administration has also suspended the use of military aircraft operated by India in Maldives. President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has stated that civilians will replace Indian military personnel to operate the aircraft once the Indian troops in Maldives are repatriated.