The Maldives, (officially the republic of Maldives) is an island group located in the north-central Indian Ocean, 790km southwest of Sri Lanka. It consists of approximately 1,190 small coral islands of which 187 are populated. The Maldives has a population of 524,000 people, nearly 300,000 of which live in the capital Male. With most of the country no higher than one metre above sea level, the Maldives is the most at-risk country to climate change. 
Maldives is a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the Head of Government and has executive power. The official religion is Islam, however, there is also a strong Buddhist influence. the Maldivian economy is broadly based on three industries - tourism, fishing and a small manufacturing sector. Tourism is by far the largest industry, accounting for 28% of the GDP. 
The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) is a relatively small military that consists of approximately 2,500 personnel. Its branches include the Maldivian Coast Guard, and the MNDF Marine corps. Defence diplomacy and cooperation is considered vitally important. While India has previously been the Maldives’ principal security partner, in 2024 the Maldives Government signed a historic security assistance agreement with China. The Maldives is part of Australia’s Indo-Pacific Endeavour (IPE) tour which aims to strengthen ties, promote peace and increase cooperation.