BETWEEN a few flecks of coral in the Indian Ocean, a ribbon of highway more than a kilometre long swoops up from the blue. Since 2018, the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge has connected the Maldives archipelago’s hyper-dense capital, Male, and the international airport – expanded by Chinese companies – one island to the east.
But China is not alone in chasing friendship with Maldives. A 20-minute walk across the capital, next to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, an even longer sea bridge will link Male with islands to the west. This one is being built by Indian workers, with money from India.
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