India says it hopes to resolve troop withdrawal issue with Maldives

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India hopes to arrive at a “mutually workable solution” with the Maldives that will allow Indian troops to remain stationed there, the External Affairs Ministry said on Thursday. This comes amid Malé having asked New Delhi to withdraw its soldiers from the island nation by March 15. India is the only foreign power with a military presence in the Maldives. Around 70 Indian defence personnel maintain radar stations and surveillance aircraft in the archipelago. Indian warships also help patrol the Maldives’ exclusive economic zone. This collaboration is of strategic importance to New Delhi amid its geopolitical competition with China in...