Defense Minister Ghassan Maumoon stated today that an Indian Coast Guard boarding team boarded three Maldivian fishing vessels due to a "miscommunication."
Responding to questions from members during today's session of the People's Majlis, the Minister said that India had informed them that Indian soldiers boarded the fishing vessels due to a "miscommunication." He also stated that he believes it could have happened that way.
"I strongly believe it was a miscommunication. Since that is the official answer given by a friendly nation of the Maldives, and also the answer given when our Chief of Defense Force met with the highest policy-level officials in India during a trip to New Delhi around that time. We accept that explanation," Ghassan said.
The Minister stated that the Indian Coast Guard soldiers did not share any information regarding the operation with the MNDF before boarding the Maldivian vessels.
"The way things have been done so far is that information is shared with all parties when conducting such an operation. What surprised us about how things happened that day was the lack of such coordination," the Minister said.
The Minister stated that numbers have been established to contact the Maldives Coast Guard in emergency situations, and that Maldivian defense advisors are stationed in neighboring countries, while their defense advisors are also stationed in the Maldives. He also stated that they will work in the future to rectify such incidents. In this regard, he said that coordination will be increased and a system will be ensured where all countries can work together.
