Male: Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu said that the country might be small, but it does not give anyone the licence to "bully" them, Maldives-based newspaper SunOnline International reported.

"We may be small but that doesn't give you the licence to bully us," the newspaper quoted Muizzu as saying, who just concluded his state visit to China.

Muizzu was on a state visit to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping. Xi also hosted a state banquet for President Muizzu and First Lady Sajidha Mohamed.

"Though we have small islands in this ocean, we have a vast exclusive economic zone of 9,00,000 square kilometers. Maldives is one of the countries with the biggest share of this ocean," Muizzu further said.

"This ocean does not belong to a specific country. This ocean also belongs to all countries situated in it," he added.

Meanwhile, a diplomatic row erupted recently over disparaging remarks made by some Maldivian deputy ministers and government officials against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lakshadweep visit.

Several Maldivian politicians, including former presidents and ministers, too, condemned the remarks and reiterated that India was a close and important partner for the island nation.

Meanwhile, in the face of online fury and a flurry of cancellations of scheduled visits to the island country, the Maldivian government distanced itself from the remarks made by its ministers.

Maldivian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Moosa Zameer, said such remarks against foreign leaders were "unacceptable" and did not reflect the official position of the government.

Taking a strong exception to the unsavoury remarks, New Delhi summoned the Maldivian envoy and registered a strong protest.

With #BoycottMaldives catching on with netizens, prominent faces of the Indian film industry and other leading celebrities came out in support of PM Modi's call to promote beach tourism in Lakshadweep and other tourist destinations in the country.

During his ongoing visit, the Maldivian President and Republic of China exchanged 20 key Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) including on Disaster Risk Reduction, Fisheries, Digital Economy, Cooperation Plan on BRI, and Grant Assistance, among others.