Indian Ocean island Maldives joins the Chinese axis

China pledged to extend funding for infrastructure in the Maldives after it upgraded ties with the strategic Indian Ocean archipelago. China vowed to "continue to provide support within its capacity to the Maldives side in areas of priority concern", the statement published on Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said.

That included "infrastructure construction, medical care and health care, improvement of people's livelihoods, new energy sources, agriculture and marine environmental protection", it said. Muizzu, in turn, thanked China for its "selfless assistance" in providing the Maldives with development funds.

The communique followed a meeting on Wednesday 10 Jan with President Xi Jinping at which Beijing announced the "elevation of bilateral ties".

"Under the new circumstances, China-Maldives relations face a historic opportunity to build on past achievements and forge ahead," Xi told Muizzu, according to China's state news agency Xinhua. Xi "stressed that China respects and supports the Maldives in exploring a development path suited to its national conditions", it said. Beijing "supports the Maldives firmly in safeguarding its national sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national dignity", he said.

Muizzu thanked Xi for "China's significant role in the Maldives' economic success" and Beijing's role in the "infrastructure development of the Maldives", according to a readout from his office. Maldives signed several fresh agreements with China, including ones on climate, agriculture and infrastructure, Muizzu's office said. No details about the value of the agreements were shared by either side.

The Maldives, primarily known as one of the most expensive holiday destinations in South Asia, with pristine white beaches and secluded resorts, has also become a geopolitical hotspot. Global east-west shipping lanes pass the nation's chain of 1,192 tiny coral islands, stretching around 800 kilometers (500 miles) across the equator.