Back in the early 90's, I was in Bangkok talking with a geologist who had been contracted by the UN to study sea-level change and its effects upon the Maldives. The concern was how long this island nation had left before it would be submerged. I understand that the latest data shows that the Maldives is very very slowly growing in land area size.
I postulate that sea level rise has gone elsewhere and left the Maldives alone 🙂