China’s continual presence in the Indian Ocean, namely the Maldives, is in response to India’s precense in the South China Sea, a Chinese news outlet has said.

The piece written for Xilu.com says that India’s ‘backyard has been catching fire’ and its leaders have been caught off-guard.

It said this in reference to China’s recent agreement with Sri Lanka and the Maldives, with President Abdulla Yameen having signed a host of agreements with Chinese President Xi Jinping – including a controversial free trade agreement.

These agreements also included cooperation on security, namely within the Indian Ocean, which the article refers to.

“It is not the deeper China-Maldives economic cooperation that India worries about, but China’s greater political and security influences in South Asia” the article said, adding that it was only the ‘beginning of India’s nightmare’.

The guest writer for Xilu further said that in addition to its strengthening of ties with the Maldives, India is also highly concerned about the recent leasing of Hambantota to China for a period of 99 years.