The two countries agreed to withdraw 89 Indian soldiers and support personnel from the country by May 10.
India began its withdrawal after the new pro-China president ordered military personnel operating surveillance aircraft in the Maldives to leave, local media reported.
Mihar newspaper on Tuesday reported that 25 Indian soldiers stationed at the southernmost tip of Addu Atoll have left the archipelago as part of a disengagement agreement between the two countries.
President Mohamed Muiz took office in October on a pledge to oust Indian security personnel deployed to the Maldives to guard the country's vast maritime border.
After talks with New Delhi, the two countries agreed to complete the withdrawal of 89 Indian soldiers and support personnel from the country of 1,192 small coral islands by May 10.
Mihar said the three Indian aircraft – two helicopters and one fixed-wing aircraft – will be operated by Indian civilian staff who have already arrived.
Although there was no official confirmation from either Maldivian or Indian authorities, Mihar said the Maldives Defense Forces had confirmed that the Indian withdrawal had begun.
Last week, the Maldives signed a “military assistance” agreement with China as the Indians prepared to leave.
The Maldives Ministry of Defense said the agreement was to foster “stronger bilateral relations” and that China would train its personnel under the agreement.
“territorial sovereignty”
“We support protecting the Maldives' territorial sovereignty,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday.
“We also support the Maldives in developing friendly exchanges and cooperation with all parties based on its independence and autonomy.”
India questions China's growing presence in the Indian Ocean and its influence in the Maldives and neighboring Sri Lanka.
The archipelago is well known for its white sand beaches, tourism accounts for nearly a third of its economy, and it is strategically located between major east-west international shipping routes.
Relations between Male and New Delhi have cooled since Muiz won elections in September.
Although New Delhi considers the Indian Ocean archipelago to be within its sphere of influence, the Maldives is moving into the orbit of China, its largest external creditor.
Muiz visited Beijing in January and signed a number of agreements related to infrastructure, energy, maritime and agriculture, but has so far sought to rebalance the region by replacing Indian troops with Chinese troops. I was denying the idea.
India last week opened a new naval base in the Lakshadweep Islands, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of the Maldives, after New Delhi announced it would build up its navy on the “strategically important” Indian Ocean islands. .
The Indian Navy said the naval unit INS Jatayu, based on Minicoy Island, would strengthen “operational surveillance” of the region, which is important for India in ensuring the safety of maritime traffic through the Indian Ocean, and said the new base would said it would help. In monitoring operations in this area.