o From Male, the nearest Chinese port, Haikou (Hainan), is 2,700 miles as the crow flies and 3,400 miles by sea. An aircraft would take 7-8 hours to cover this distance, overflying three countries, and a ship would take 8-10 days to reach Male. Compare this to the flying time.

o From India the flying time is just over an hour, and sailing time of a little over 24 hours to cover the 500 miles between Male and the nearest Indian port/airport of Kochi.

♤ Indian Navy’s sterling performance in the 2004 tsunami relief effort is a reminder of how close India is to Maldives both geographically and metaphorically.