Primarily known as one of the most expensive holiday destinations in South Asia, with pristine white beaches and secluded resorts, the strategic Indian Ocean island nation has also become a geopolitical hotspot. Global east-west shipping lanes pass the nation s chain of 1,192 tiny coral islands, stretching around 800 kilometres (500 miles) across the equator. President Mohamed Muizzu, 45, won last September s presidential poll as a proxy for pro-China ex-president Abdulla Yameen, this week freed after a court set aside his 11-year jail term for corruption.