Defence Minister Ghassan has stated that the official reason given by India for their Coastguard boarding local fishing vessels which were in Maldives' EEZ is that it was through 'miscommunication'.
Minister of Defence Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon has stated in Parliament today that the official justification provided by the Government of India in response to Maldivian government officially requesting for clarification about the Indian coastguard entering the Maldives' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in violation of international maritime laws and boarding three fishing vessel is that the events were a result of 'miscommunication'.
Former Minister of Defence Mariya Ahmed Didi has meanwhile alleged that the events transpired as a result of the Indian Coastguard being unable to contact MNDF.
Answering to MPs' queries after being summoned to Parliament today, Ghassan said that India had officially informed Maldives that their Coastguard had boarded Maldives' fishing vessels due to 'miscommunication'. He said that the justification they provided for boarding the vessels is the use of satellite phones on said vessels.
"They boarded the vessels because satellite phones were being used, and that is against the law according to them. However, that applied to the use of satellite phones in India's ocean territory, it's banned there through an amendment brought to one of their regulations. But in the case of Maldives, those phones are permitted for use. In fact, as per our laws, if vessels are travelling a specific distance far from islands, then the use of satellite phones is obligatory. Hence, the Maldivian fishermen were acting in accordance with the laws," Ghassan stated.
Hulhumale' MP Ali Niyaz asked Ghassan if he accepted India's given justification of 'miscommunication', or whether he believed there was a hidden agenda under the events.
"I strongly believe it was caused by miscommunication. Because that is the official response from a friendly nation. And also because it is the same response our Chief of Defence Force received in those same days when he met with senior, policy level officials on a trip to New Delhi. We accept that reason," the Defence Minister responded.
Ghassan went on to point out that even at present, many facilities existed through which neighbouring countries can communicate with each other when maritime operations are being conducted.
He said that there are emergency contact numbers for the Maldives' Coastguard established, as well as Defence Advisors from Maldives based in neighbouring countries, and their Defence Advisors based here in the Maldives.
This is why, he said, the lack of communication regarding the boarding of fishing vessels by the Indian Coastguard became a matter of surprise and concern.
"To date, how things have been done is, if any such operations are ongoing, everyone will get informed ahead. What surprised us that day is there was no such coordination that time," Ghassan explained.
"What we can do in the future is to establish a better coordination system between countries and increase cooperation," he said.
Responding to a question posed by West Henveiru MP Hassan Latheef, Ghassan said that it is proven through official sources that the fishing vessels had been well within the Maldives' EEZ when the Indian Coastguard officers boarded the vessels.
He said that it has been confirmed that even before the Indian Coastguard boarded them, the vessels had been in Maldives' territory and had at no time strayed out of the territorial boundaries.
"The most key action we can take to prevent such incidents from recurring is to build the capacity of our military to the extent that it is able to surveil and monitor our territories. To give other countries also the guarantee that Maldives' will keep its ocean territories monitored around the clock," the Minister said.
He stated that President Dr Mohamed Muizzu was currently undertaking efforts to build capacity to this level, and expressed confidence in its success.
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