Beijing: China said on Tuesday that it supports the Maldives in safeguarding its sovereignty, as the first batch of Indian military personnel operating a helicopter left the island nation and was replaced by a civilian crew. Indian military personnel stationed in the Maldives manning the operations of a helicopter left the country after handing over the operations of the chopper to an Indian civilian crew, the Maldivian media reported on Monday.Beijing: China said on Tuesday that it supports the Maldives in safeguarding its sovereignty, as the first batch of Indian military personnel operating a helicopter left the island nation and was replaced by a civilian crew. Indian military personnel stationed in the Maldives manning the operations of a helicopter left the country after handing over the operations of the chopper to an Indian civilian crew, the Maldivian media reported on Monday.