I picture the international stage much like the NCAA March Madness Tournament. China is trying really hard to make it to the final four and compete with major Western powers. In order to do that, however, they need to win their region. China has almost always been a favorite in the Elite 8 round of the bracket, having a population and economy that trumps the small nations in East Asia, but they are looking to increase their record here. While historically, China went through periods of more isolation, it has consistently interacted with other countries as a means to growing their regional relations. We have seen them become more engaged in the North Korea problem, and now, this article shows them becoming involved with the Maldives, or at least that’s what the President of the Maldives thinks.
Recently, there has been much political turmoil in the country. President Nasheed launched an investigation on what he thinks was a coup attempt. He has asked India to get involved to help combat what he considers Chinese intervention. This is not necessarily active interference, rather it is activity, namely infrastructure building on 16 nearby inlets, that Nasheed is interpreting as an undermining land grabbing scheme. If this is in fact intentional on the part of the Chinese, it can certainly be interpreted as an effort to increase regional power that will push them further into a competitive international power slot.
http://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2144296/what-does-china-have-do-maldives-coup-ask-sri-lankan-tourists