Maldives pres vows to double Coast Guard capacity with more drones
"Hopefully, in every sense of the word, our Maldivian army will always be our pride and we will be even more proud of it in the future".
By
Shahudha Mohamed
President Mohammed Muizzu has said that his administration will bring in more Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)s or drones and double the capacity of the Coast Guard and strengthen the Maldivian military.
The President said so speaking at the inauguration of the Air Corps of the Maldivian Army, speaking at a special ceremony held in N.Maafaru.
Noting that Maldives has a large sea territory of over 900,000 square kilometres, the President said that the territory can be best utilised if it is monitored by ourselves.
“Today, hopefully, we will be able to take care of our own territory and our independence will be assured,” he said.
He also assured that he would make great efforts during this term to increase the strength of the MNDF in order to maintain the territory of Maldives.
'Some drones are free, there's more'
Three Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones were officially launched in Maldives, and the President’s remarks highlighted the assistance of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in delivering these drones to Maldives.
“We saw three UAVs here, but hopefully it will be much more thanks to our closeness to him [Erdogan] and [the extent to which] our military strengthens,” he said.
"And I am proud to note that many of these have been donated free of charge to the country through this closeness”.
The President said the UAVs provided by the Turkish government as part of the Turkish government's closeness with Maldives are of the highest quality technology.
These new facilities will enable 24-hour surveillance of Maldivian sea territory, he said. He added:
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Search and rescue operations can be conducted easily in cases of loss of people at sea
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There will be no further need to seek the help of other countries to stop drug trafficking by sea
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The "Ras'ain'' mobile application aimed at assisting efforts to keep travellers and fishing vessels safe was also launched on Friday evening, and will allow fishermen to find popular fishing spots, schools of fishes and make full use of the Maldivian EEZ
'Coast Guard capacity to be doubled'
The quality of the Coast Guard vessels in charge of maintaining Maldivian territory by sea is poor against its scope and the Coast Guard does not have the capacity required for Maldives, he said.
“What I want to announce here is that the capacity of the current Coast Guard will hopefully be doubled by the end of these five years,” the President promised.
He said:
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Negotiations are already underway with Turkey and other allies to procure vessels of various sizes for the Coast Guard
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The Coast Guard's maritime capabilities will also be enhanced; both air and sea fleets can be added-on to
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Along with increasing sea and air capacity, various land facilities will also be acquired
The President said that many of the military facilities in Maldives have been neglected for a long time. A special budget has been allocated for the revitalization of Maldivian military and the necessary resources are being provided even now, he said.
"Hopefully, in every sense of the word, our Maldivian army will always be our pride and we will be even more proud of it in the future. Hopefully we will do that," he said.
‘MNDF to start hydrography survey this year'
The President said that although previously the assistance of other parties had to be sought to study the depth of the Maldivian sea, it would be conducted directly by the Maldivian military now.
“The financial resources, financial matters and budgetary matters have now been provided to the MNDF,” he said.
"Hopefully within this year, capacity for the hydrography work will be established within the MNDF and we will start doing it ourselves”.
At this occassion the President referred to his promises to ensure the independence of the people in his speech after taking the oath of office.
“I said this in my first speech to the people on November 17,” the President recalled.
"I will draw the red line upon the freedom of the people very wide. No one will have the right to cross the red line. I will not allow such an opportunity. And if they are among us, I will draw them out too”.
President Muizzu said he was exhibiting his promises both by his words and his actions.
