India and the Maldives have begun an operation to conduct surveillance of the Maldives’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), using Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) coastguard vessels and Indian navy aircraft.
The joint surveillance operation comes after several boatloads of Somali castaways were rescued in the Maldives last year. One of the dinghies contained a spent bullet shell.
No suspicious activities have been detected since the launch of the operation on Thursday, the MNDF said.