A Pakistani military ship was in the Maldives when an Indian surveillance aircraft entered Maldivian territory and flew over Maldivian airspace for two days.
An Indian Army Boeing P-81 Poseidon flew over Maldives on March 15 and 16. The registration number of the aircraft is IN329.
According to information obtained by Adhadhu from aircraft tracking sites and other sources, the plane took off from an Indian military base in Goa.
At the same time, Pakistan's PNS Aslat was in the Maldives for a military exercise with the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) from March 13 to 16.
The Pakistani ship docked in Male' on March 13. A special iftar was also held on the ship for Maldivian soldiers and government officials.
PNS Aslat and military exercises
PNS Aslat, introduced in 2013, is one of the most advanced ships of the Pakistan Army. It is 123-metre-long and is capable of carrying more than 170 troops.
Equipped with anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles, it can launch missiles at a range of 4,000 miles. It is also equipped with sonars, torpedoes and special missiles to attack submarines.
The ship has been used in many military exercises conducted by Pakistan with India's biggest rival China. China also helped build the ship.
According to posts from official accounts of the Pakistan Navy, the ship conducted a regional maritime security patrol exercise with the Maldives coast guard. MNDF used the coast guard vessel Shaheed Ali, gifted by India, during the exercise.
The exercises were conducted in the last days of the ships' voyage to Maldives. Troops from the two countries conducted a passage exercise involving soldiers from one country boarding the other country's ship.
PNS Aslat near Male'. -- Photo: Pakistan High Commission
According to the Pakistani Navy, the Pakistani ambassador to Maldives as well as ambassadors and diplomats from other countries boarded the ship during its visit to the Maldives. The countries include Australia, Bangladesh, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Russia, Sri Lanka, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Maldives' Chief of Defense Force Major General Ibrahim Hilmy and army officials met with senior members of PNS Aslat.
Indian surveillance aircraft and its routes
India operates the Boeing P-81 Poseidon, a maritime patrol aircraft based on the Boeing 737-800, for missions like maritime surveillance, anti-submarine warfare, and humanitarian operations.
Based at the Indian military base, INS Hansa in Goa , the Poseidon planes are used for surveillance and military missions in the western Indian Ocean (where Maldives is located), the Arabian Sea and the west coast of India.
The registration number of the aircraft that flew over Maldives is IN329. The Indian Army has 12 of these aircraft.
Adhadhu team has tracked the plane's routes during the past year. Over that period, this is the first time it approached Maldivian territory and flew over the country.
Goa Airport. -- Photo: Google Earth
On March 15 and 16, the aircraft took off from INS Hansa base in Goa. On the first day, it came to about 40 kilometers from Velana International Airport.
The plane was flying at 21,500 feet. It flew over Vaavu atoll, including inhabited islands, before nearing Male'.
After approaching Male', the aircraft headed north and did a roundabout from outside Haa Alif atoll to fly to the west. It could no longer be tracked on sites after sunset.
The plane's routes over Maldives. -- Photo: Flight Radar
On the second day, it entered Maldivian territory and flew from the east of Maldives.
It flew near the Maafaru airport (where the MNDF military drones are stationed). It flew over the east of Noonu atoll and returned back to India from the southeast of Lhaviyani atoll.
No comment from the government
Efforts to reach the Maldives government for comment were unsuccessful. A Defense Ministry media officer did not respond to phone calls and the Foreign Ministry did not comment.
Meanwhile, the Maldives government has not released any information about the military exercise with Pakistan. Information about the exercise was provided by the Pakistani High Commission in Maldives and the Pakistan Navy.
News reports about the exercise on the Public Service Media was based on information from the Pakistan High Commission.
Indian officials did not comment on the matter.
The government did not say whether the Indian surveillance plane entered Maldivian territory with the permission of the Maldives government.
This article was first written in Dhivehi by Ahmed Aaidh.
