President: Tankers aren’t for war; it addresses decades-old stall in efforts to boost military capabilities

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said on Saturday that his administration isn’t spending heavily on procuring tankers and other military resources to prepare for a war, but that this spending is something that became “necessary” because of lack of efforts to boost military capabilities over the lack two decades.

President Muizzu has been hit with criticism in recent months over his decision to procure military resources such as tankers and a missile boat – money that some believe should have been invested elsewhere.

But in a press briefing at the President’s Office on Saturday morning, President Muizzu said that boosting the country’s military capabilities must be a matter of pride for Maldivian citizens.

He said that there hadn’t been any efforts to boost the Maldivian military’s capabilities over the last two decades, with resources and infrastructure left to rot.

President Muizzu said that his administration’s military spending was therefore necessary to remedy the poor state the Maldivian military is in.

“We aren’t preparing for a war. We are a peaceful country. We want peace in our territory as well,” he said.

President Muizzu said that he authorized the procurement of new tankers because the old ones “weren’t even running.”

“The state of out military had become shameful,” he said.

President Muizzu said that his plan to boost military capabilities also extends to the Fire and Rescue Service and the Coast Guard.

As such, President Muizzu said he plans to build up Fire and Rescue Service’s resources over the course of two years, and double the size of the Coast Guard – something that he said was crucial given the large size of Maldives’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the dangers of piracy, drug trafficking and illegal fisheries activities.

He said that he would welcome support from bilateral partners in efforts to boost Maldives’ military capabilities, including resources and human resources.

But he said he would never agree to have foreign troops station in the Maldives.

“Regardless of how big that country may be, regardless of whether it is a close neighbor, regardless of how much they may already be assisting us in other ways… None of this matters to us the moment our independence comes at risk,” he said.