India will withdraw troops from Maldives starting March — Male

India will start withdrawing its troops deployed in the Maldives from next month, Male's foreign ministry has said after talks.

Male's foreign ministry said on Friday that New Delhi had agreed at talks in the Indian capital to start pulling out its 89 personnel by March 10 and complete the process within two months.

New Delhi considers the strategically located Indian Ocean archipelago - which straddles key global shipping lanes - to be within its sphere of influence.

But the Maldives has actively realigned itself with China after September's election of new President Mohamed Muizzu, who demanded the Indian troops leave.

The troops are deployed to operate three Indian-donated maritime reconnaissance aircraft, two helicopters, and a fixed-wing plane which have also been used for medical evacuations from remote islets scattered for some 800 kilometers (500 miles) across the equator.

The two sides had "reviewed" their cooperation with a view to "enhancing" their partnership in defence, security, and other fields, the Maldivian foreign ministry statement said.

A 'clown'

However, the Indian government's statement at the meeting made no explicit reference to any withdrawal.

The two had "agreed on a set of mutually workable solutions to enable continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and medevac services to the people of Maldives", New Delhi's foreign ministry said.

Official sources in the Maldives said it was likely that the aircraft will remain in the nation of 1,192 coral islands, but could be operated by civilian Indian staff.

Tensions between the neighbors flared last month after three of Muizzu's junior ministers reportedly called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "clown" and a "terrorist" in since-deleted social media posts.

Bollywood actors and some of India's cricket greats responded with calls for compatriots to boycott the island nation and instead book their next holidays closer to home.

Tourism accounts for nearly a third of the Maldives's economy, with Indians making up the largest share of foreign arrivals.