After taking office, Muizzu visited China ahead of India and said Maldives’ small size is not a license for anyone to bully it.
India implores pro-China Maldives to ease tensions and improve their strained relationship
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The base sits adjacent to the South China Sea, where China has aggressively asserted its claim to virtually the entire strategic waterway, and also provides easy access to the Malacca Straits, a critical shipping route leading from it to the Indian Ocean.
China has docked warships in Cambodia for 5 months, but government says it's not permanent
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