Indian navy boards local fishing boats inside Maldives' territory

Indian military personnel had boarded two other Maldivian fishing boats, apart from A.Dh. Mahibadhoo’s Asuruma-3 boat, which was fishing in the northern economic zone of the country, according to the Bodu Kanneli Masveringe Union (BKMU).

BKMU President Hussain Nafiz, quoting the sailor of Asuruma-3, told Atoll Times that the other two boats boarded by Indian troops while carrying weapons are:

Both the boats were fishing in the same area where Asuruma-3 was also fishing and the matter has been brought to the attention of the MNDF, he said. However, Nafiz said he has not been able to speak with the sailors on these two boats as they do not use satellite phones.

He added that:

"I would say this will cause deep trauma to the boat crew. I strongly condemn the fact that foreign troops had just approached, stopped and boarded [the boats] while they were in their own Maldivian waters," Nafiz said.

It was the BKMU that first reported the incident when the Indian military vessel stopped and soldiers boarded Mahibadhoo’s fishing boat Asuruma-3.

MNDF, however, did not exactly say whether it was Indian soldiers who boarded the vessel in their message to the media on Wednesday, saying it had "received report that a boarding team from a foreign military vessel had boarded the fishing vessel".