Indian troops boarded fishing vessels to verify satellite phone usage: Ghassan

Defense Minister Ghassan Maumoon stated today that Indian Coast Guard personnel boarded Maldivian fishing vessels to verify whether they were using satellite phones.

Responding to questions posed by members during the opportunity to question the minister at today's parliamentary sitting, Ghassan said that the reason given for the Indian troops boarding the fishing vessels was to verify the possession of satellite phones on those vessels.

"They boarded claiming that the use of satellite phones is, in their view, an illegal act. However, the use of those phones within Indian territory is prohibited by a change brought to Indian regulations. Nevertheless, it is a phone that can be used in the Maldives. And according to our regulations, it is a mandatory phone to carry if going out beyond a certain distance. Therefore, Maldivian fishermen were abiding by the laws," Ghassan said.

The Minister said that the Indian Coast Guard boarding team boarded the vessels during a "normal searching" operation, and after boarding, they checked the phones on the vessels and deleted some photos and videos of the troops boarding from the phones.