The Republic of Maldives, located about 500 km south-southwest of Sri Lanka and India, is part of South Asia. With an area of 298 square kilometres, the Maldives is one of the smallest countries in Asia with a population of 515,696 people, and Malé is the country's capital and largest city, traditionally known as "King's Island".
Maldives
The Maldives consists of a series of about 1,192 coral reef islands with a length of 820 km from north to south and 120 km wide from east to west, comprising 26 atolls. The average land height is only 1.5 meters above sea level, which is one of the lowest countries, and the highest point is also one of the lowest countries, only 2.4 meters.
The Maldives is a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and a member of the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement. The World Bank classifies the Maldives as a high- and middle-income economy, with fishing as the most important economic activity and tourism as the fastest-growing industry. Maldives and Sri Lanka are the only countries in South Asia with a "high" human development index and the highest per capita income among South Asian countries.
Map of Maldives
On 14 October 2016, the Maldives announced its withdrawal from the Commonwealth in protest of commonwealth criticism of corruption and human rights, and rejoined on 1 February 2020.
Historically, the Maldives was a very important strategic location because it was located on the main shipping routes of the Indian Ocean, and the neighbors of the Maldives were Sri Lanka and India, and the culture and commerce of these two countries were closely linked to the Maldives for nearly centuries, and the Maldives provided the main source of shells for money throughout the coastal regions of Asia and parts of East Africa at that time.
Malé is the capital and most populous city of the Republic of Maldives. Male is located on the southern edge of North Male Atoll and is part of the administrative division of the Maldives. Traditionally home to the ancient Maldivian dynastic rule and royal palace, the city, also known as Mahal, was once a walled city. In recent years, Malé Island has expanded its land area through reclamation, and in 2018, the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge was built.
Located in the North Male Atoll of the Maldives, the China-Malaysia Friendship Bridge crosses the Gaadhoo Koa Strait and connects the three adjacent islands of Malé Island, Airport Island (Hurule Island) and Hulhumale Island, started construction on December 30, 2015 and officially opened on August 30, 2018, and is the most important island connection project in the Maldives. Due to environmental factors, the Maldives is unable to build railways in the country, but it still has Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, which is the maldives' main external transportation hub, and many international airlines have destinations at this airport. However, the country's private airline, Mega Airways, ceased operations in May 2017 due to corporate restructuring and no investor contribution. Maldives National Airlines operates mainly inter-island flights, with a small number of international flights to India, Bangladesh and China.
Another international airport on Gan Island, the southernmost tip of the Maldives, is called Gan International Airport. Current international routes include Gandao-Chongqing (Jiangbei), Gandao-Seoul (Incheon), Gandao-Hong Kong, and Gandao-Colombo (Bandaranaike). The main means of transport between the islands in the Maldives is ships, seaplanes and inland aircraft. The capital, Malé, has an area of 1.5 square kilometres and is used more frequently by bicycles, motorcycles and small cars.
It is a city-state island country and city-state located in Southeast Asia. The country is located at the southernmost tip of the Indochina Peninsula, guarding the southernmost outlet of the Strait of Malacca, separated from Indonesia by the Singapore Strait to the south, the Strait of Johor to the north across Malaysia, and the two bridges between the New Johor Causeway and the Second Passage. In addition to the main island of Singapore, Singapore also includes the surrounding islands, and the largest outer island of Singapore is Tok Kwang Island. Since Singapore's independence, large-scale reclamation has increased Singapore's area by 23%, equivalent to an increase of 130 square kilometers.
Singapore
Since independence in 1965, Singapore has rapidly transformed itself from poverty and dependence on international trade and human capital operations to one of the four wealthy Asian tigers, and has become one of The important financial, service and shipping centers in Asia by virtue of its geographical advantages.
Sentosa (Malay: Sentosa), meaning "tranquil" in Malay, is a popular island and tourist destination in Singapore, visited by around 20 million tourists each year. On the south shore of the island there are beaches over 2 km long, Fort Siloso left over from World War II, two golf courses and 7 hotels. It also includes Resorts World Sentosa and its universal studios Singapore theme park.
Brunei Darussalam is a Southeast Asian country located on the northern shore of Borneo. Brunei is one of the three northern States of Bo, located on the south coast of South China, the entire territory is divided and surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak. Brunei became peacefully independent of the United Kingdom on 1 January 1984 and joined ASEAN on 7 January. Brunei's economy is in good shape, with oil and gas production and exports accounting for about 67 per cent of GDP, and the extent and scope of social welfare are perfect, and it is known for not having to pay taxes.
Brunei
The Sultan of Brunei, a hereditary dynasty since the 14th century, was the leader of the state and government and the commander of the army. The Sultan is also Prime Minister of Brunei in his capacity as Head of State. All members of the Brunei Legislative Council are appointed by the Sultan and there is no democratically elected legislature.
The ruling national policy is the Malay Islamic monarchy, which includes the Malay language, culture and customs as the main body, Islam as the state religion, the promotion of Islamic laws and values, the supremacy of the king, and the opposition to the separation of church and state.
It is a country located at the eastern tip of Timor Island in Southeast Asia, and was once one of only two Portuguese colonies in the Far East (the other being Macau). At the end of August 1999, with the support of Australia and other regions, independence was decided through a referendum, and independence was made at 00:00 on May 20, 2002, and officially joined the United Nations on September 27, 2002, becoming the 191st member of the United Nations.
Timor-Leste
East Timor is located in Southeast Asia, in the small Sunda Islands in the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago and southeast of Australia. The territory includes the Oecussi district, an enclave isolated by Indonesia on the eastern and western north coast of Timor Island, and the nearby island of Atauro. It is bordered to the west by West Timor, Indonesia.
The territory is mountainous, plains and valleys belong to the savannah climate, with high temperature throughout the year, dry and wet seasons are obvious; other areas are tropical rainforest climate, high temperature and rainy all year round. Common natural disasters are floods and landslides, as well as earthquakes, tsunamis and tropical cyclones.
Natural resources include gold, oil, natural gas, manganese, and marble. Slash-and-burn farming is also widely used in agriculture, leading to deforestation and soil erosion.
It is a south Asian landlocked country located on the southern slope of the eastern section of the Himalayas between China and India. Bhutan is bordered to the west by the Indian state of Sikkim, across nepal, and to the south by the Indian states of West Bengal and Assam. The capital and largest city of Bhutan is Thimphu. In the Dzongkha language, Bhutan is called the "Main Domain", meaning the land of thunder and dragons.
Bhutan
Bhutan became a tribe of Tubo in the 8th century, under the jurisdiction of the XuanzhengYuan during the Yuan Dynasty, and did not become independent until after the Qing Dynasty. Bhutan has a standing army of 16,000 people, accounting for 1.8% of GDP, a higher proportion than Japan, Germany, Italy, etc., but the total amount is not large, generally provided by India to provide training support, in 2002 participated in India's suppression of the United Liberation Front of Assam and the National Democratic Front of Puertoland separatist forces, but not completely successful. Rebel armies in the area are still active today. Equipped with 10 Mi-8 helicopters to fight in the mountains, a small number of Soviet BTR-60 armored vehicles, and the rest equipped with infantry light weapons.
Bhutan currently has diplomatic relations with 54 countries. Bhutan is constrained by India and therefore needs to take into account India's attitude while developing diplomatic relations with other countries. Bhutan has no diplomatic relations with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and all five UN Security Council permanent members handle matters related to Bhutan through their respective embassies in India.
Malaysia, or Malaysia for short, is a country located in Southeast Asia. A federal, parliamentary democracy, electoral monarchy and constitutional monarchy formed on 16 September 1963 by the former Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore, the state of Singapore was de-listed as a commonwealth on 9 August 1965 and became an independent state.
Malaysia
Malaysia has a total area of 330,345 square kilometers and is divided into two parts by the South China Sea: the western half of the Malay Peninsula is divided into eleven states and two federal territories Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, often referred to as "West Malaysia", bordering Thailand to the north, the Strait of Johor to the south, and Singapore with the New Johor Causeway and the Second Passage; and the eastern half is located in the north of Borneo, the third largest island in the world, belonging to the two states of Sabah and Sarawak and the Federal Territory of Labuan, often referred to as "East Malaysia", and the south of Indonesia's Kalimantan, Brunei, on the other hand, borders East Malaysia on three sides. The capital is located in Kuala Lumpur, the most densely populated and prosperous region in Malaysia, and the seat of the federal government is located in Putrajaya. Malaysia's geographical location close to the equator and its climate in the Tropical Rainforest of Asia leads to a low population density, while Peninsular Malaysia is much more densely populated than borneo and is also the capital and seat of the federal government. As of 2020, the country's population totals 32.27 million.
Malaysia's foreign policy is based on the principle of neutrality and maintains peacekeeping relations with countries with various political systems. Malaysia seeks to further develop its relations with the countries of the region, and the strong tenet of Malaysia's policy is national sovereignty and the country's right to control internal affairs.
Malaysia maintains certain diplomatic relations with all countries in the world and gets along well with all countries, except Israel. Malaysian passports also clearly indicate that Malaysian nationals are not allowed to enter Israel without permission unless special permission has been obtained in advance.
Known as Ceylon before 1972, it is an island nation located in the southeastern sea of the South Asian-Indian subcontinent and belongs to Asia. In ancient China, it was once called the Chengbu, the Lion Kingdom, the Shizi Kingdom, the Sinhalese, and the Lengya Island.
Sri Lanka is a unitary republic with its political capital located in Sri Jaya Wawadna Prakot ("Kot") and the economic capital in Colombo.
Sri Lanka
The island of Sri Lanka is pear-shaped and similar to the shape of tears, hence the nickname "Tears of the Indian Ocean". The entire island is located in the Indian Ocean, with the Bay of Bengal to the northeast; the central and southern plateaus, mountainous, and the northern and coastal plains; and Adam's Peak.
Sri Lanka has a tropical grassland climate in the north and a tropical rainforest climate in the south, with hot annual rainfall throughout the year; the western part has an annual rainfall of 2000-3000 mm, and the northeast is drier, with an annual rainfall of about 1000 mm.
It is an island nation located in West Asia, near the west coast of the Persian Gulf, with the capital of Manama. Bahrain Island is the largest island in Bahrain, with a length of 55 kilometers from north to south and 18 kilometers wide from east to west, with a total area of about 758 square kilometers. Saudi Arabia is located in the west of Bahrain and can be connected by the King Fahd Bridge; Iran is located 200 kilometers north of Bahrain; and the Qatar Peninsula is located on the southeast side of the Gulf of Bahrain. The climate is tropical desert. In 2010, Bahrain had a total population of 1,234,571, including 666,172 expatriates. Bahrain is the birthplace of the Dilmen civilization. In 628 AD, Bahrain became an Islamic region.
Bahrain
The form of government is a constitutional monarchy. The head of state is the king, the central government has little power, and the local tribes have great autonomy and can manage local affairs in accordance with local customary law, such as islamic communities following Islamic law, Christian communities following Christian law, and Indian communities following Hindu law. In October 2002, a senate and a house of representatives were established. Senators are appointed by the King and members of the House are elected. It was the first Arab country in the Arabian Gulf to hold parliamentary elections and to involve women in politics.
The state religion in Bahrain is Islam, and most Bahraini citizens are Muslims. There are no official statistics on the proportion of Shiites and Sunnis among Bahraini Muslims, but about 65-75% of Bahraini Muslims are Shiite, while Bahrain's ruling authorities are Sunni. In addition to Islam, Bahrain also has Christian and Hindu beliefs. The 2010 census included 367,683 non-Muslim residents of Bahrain.
It is an absolute monarchy in West Asia, a Sunni Arab state, and a peninsular state located on the edge of the Arabian Peninsula, most of which is surrounded by the Persian Gulf, and only its southern territory borders Saudi Arabia, which is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
After the ottoman rule, Qatar became a British protectorate in the early 20th century, during which time oil and gas were discovered, thus replacing the original pearling industry and becoming the country's most important source of income. Qatar became independent in 1971. Since the 19th century it has been ruled by the Al-Thani family. Qatar is an emirate and the adoption of a constitutional or absolute monarchy is still controversial. The new constitution was adopted in 2003 in accordance with a referendum and was approved by 98 per cent. Qatar's population was 2.6 million in 2017, including 313,000 Qatari citizens, as well as 2.3 million expatriates.
Qatar has a considerable wealth of oil and gas resources, and the total reserves of natural gas are the third largest in the world, while the per capita GDP is the fourth in the world. Qatar's human development index is extremely high, the highest among Arab countries.
Qatar
Qatar is an absolute monarchy of emirates. The Emir of Qatar is the head of state and supreme commander of the armed forces, hereditary to the Al Thani family and prohibits the activities of any political party. Moreover, Qatar had not accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.
Located in southwest Asia (West Asia), on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, it is customarily part of the Middle East. It is bordered by Syria to the northeast, Israel/Palestine to the south and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Lebanon has historically had close ties with Christianity and is one of the few republics and Westernized countries in the Middle East. The territory has one of the earliest cities and World Heritage Sites of mankind, the oldest of which has a history of more than 5,000 years and is quite famous in tourism.
After independence in 1943, Lebanon established a unique form of confessional government, with the major religious sects assigning specific political powers. Lebanon initially enjoyed political and economic stability, but was broken by the bloody Lebanese civil war (1975-1990) between various political and sectarian factions. The war partly led to military occupations in Syria (1975-2005) and Israel (1985-2000). Lebanon remains an international developing country with the highest levels of human development index and per capita GDP in the Arab world, with the exception of oil-rich economies in the Persian Gulf.
Lebanon
The President of Lebanon is the head of state of Lebanon, traditionally held by a member of the Catholic Maronni Church, and the Prime Minister of Lebanon is the head of government of Lebanon. Lebanon is a unicameral parliament with a parliamentary democracy of 260 political parties, dispersed forces and a proportional representation system to balance the interests of all parties, with no political parties prevailing.
Lebanon's military strength is weak and unable to effectively counter its strong southern neighbor, Israel. Lebanon has no harsh and hot climate, which is suitable for tourism. Summer tourist attractions include Cedar Hill and Kadisha Sacred Valley. Good for skiing in winter. In addition, Christianity and Islam coexist here, compared with other Arab countries, Lebanon is very Westernized and open, known as the "Little Paris of the Middle East".
Lebanon has the world's largest surviving Roman site, Balebek, which is called the "Great Wall" of Lebanon.