ChileChile rebuffs Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore theAtacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, offering insteadunrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile toBolivian gas and other commodities; Peru proposes changing itslatitudinal maritime boundary with Chile to an equidistance linewith a southwestern axis; territorial claim in Antarctica (ChileanAntarctic Territory) partially overlaps Argentine and Britishclaims; action by the joint boundary commission, established byChile and Argentina in 2001, for mapping and demarcating thedisputed boundary in the Andean Southern Ice Field (Campo de HieloSur) remains pending
Chinain 2005, China and India began drafting principles to resolveall aspects of their extensive boundary and territorial disputestogether with a security and foreign policy dialogue to consolidatediscussions related to the boundary, regional nuclear proliferation,and other matters; recent talks and confidence-building measureshave begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, site of the world'slargest and most militarized territorial dispute with portions underthe de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu andKashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); India doesnot recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in1964; about 90,000 ethnic Tibetan exiles reside primarily in Indiaas well as Nepal and Bhutan; China asserts sovereignty over theSpratly Islands together with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan,Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conductof Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions in theSpratlys but is not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought bysome parties; Vietnam and China continue to expand construction offacilities in the Spratlys and in March 2005, the national oilcompanies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a jointaccord on marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands; Chinaoccupies some of the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam andTaiwan; China and Taiwan have become more vocal in rejecting bothJapan's claims to the uninhabited islands of Senkaku-shoto (DiaoyuTai) and Japan's unilaterally declared equidistance line in the EastChina Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon prospecting; certainislands in the Yalu and Tumen rivers are in an uncontested disputewith North Korea and a section of boundary around Mount Paektu isconsidered indefinite; China seeks to stem illegal migration of tensof thousands of North Koreans; China and Russia prepare to demarcatethe boundary agreed to in October 2004 between the long-disputedislands at the Amur and Ussuri; demarcation of the China-Vietnamboundary proceeds slowly and although the maritime boundarydelimitation and fisheries agreements were ratified in June 2004,implementation has been delayed; environmentalists in Burma andThailand remain concerned about China's construction ofhydroelectric dams upstream on the Nujiang/Salween River in YunnanProvince
Christmas Islandnone
Clipperton Islandnone
Cocos (Keeling) Islandsnone
ColombiaNicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 andagainst Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundaryinvolving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including theArchipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank;dispute with Venezuela over maritime boundary and Los Monjes Islandsnear the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics,guerrilla, and paramilitary activities penetrate all of itsneighbors' borders and have created a serious refugee crisis withover 300,000 persons having fled the country, mostly intoneighboring states
Comorosclaims French-administered Mayotte
Congo, Democratic Republic of the heads of the Great Lakes states and UN pledge to end conflict but unchecked tribal, rebel, and militia fighting continues unabated in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, drawing in the neighboring states of Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda; the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has maintained over 14,000 peacekeepers in the region since 1999; thousands of Ituri refugees from the Congo continue to flee the fighting primarily into Uganda; 90,000 Angolan refugees were repatriated by 2004 with the remainder in the DRC expected to return in 2005; in 2005, DRC and Rwanda established a border verification mechanism to address accusations of Rwandan military supporting Congolese rebels and the DRC providing rebel Rwandan "Interhamwe" forces the means and bases to attack Rwandan forces; the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area
Congo, Republic of theabout 7,000 Congolese refugees fleeinginternal civil conflicts since the mid-1990s still reside in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo; the location of the boundary inthe broad Congo River with the Democratic Republic of the Congo isindefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area
Cook Islandsnone
Coral Sea Islandsnone
Costa Ricain September 2005, Costa Rica took its case before theICJ to advocate the navigation, security, and commercial rights ofCosta Rican vessels using the Río San Juan over which Nicaraguaretains sovereignty
Cote d'Ivoirerebel and ethnic fighting against the centralgovernment in 2002 has spilled into neighboring states, driven outforeign cocoa workers from nearby countries, and, in 2004, resultedin 6,000 peacekeepers deployed as part of UN Operation in Coted'Ivoire (UNOCI) assisting 4,000 French troops already in-country;the Ivorian Government accuses Burkina Faso and Liberia ofsupporting Ivorian rebels
Croatiadiscussions continue with Bosnia and Herzegovina overseveral small disputed sections of the boundary related to maritimeaccess that hinders ratification of the 1999 border agreement; theCroatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement, which wouldhave ceded most of Pirin Bay and maritime access to Slovenia andseveral villages to Croatia, remains un-ratified and in dispute; asa European Union peripheral state, neighboring Slovenia must conformto the strict Schengen border rules to curb illegal migration andcommerce through southeastern Europe while encouraging closecross-border ties with Croatia
CubaUS Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutualagreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease
Cyprushostilities in 1974 divided the island into two de factoautonomous entities, the internationally recognized CypriotGovernment and a Turkish-Cypriot community (north Cyprus); the1,000-strong UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has served inCyprus since 1964 and maintains the buffer zone between north andsouth; March 2003 reunification talks failed, but Turkish-Cypriotslater opened their borders to temporary visits by Greek Cypriots; on24 April 2004, the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communitiesvoted in simultaneous and parallel referenda on whether to approvethe UN-brokered Annan Plan that would have ended the 30-yeardivision of the island by establishing a new "United CyprusRepublic," a majority of Greek Cypriots voted "no"; on 1 May 2004,Cyprus entered the European Union still divided, with the EU's bodyof legislation and standards (acquis communitaire) suspended in thenorth
Czech Republicin February 2005, the ICJ refused to rule on therestitution of Liechtenstein's land and property assets in the CzechRepublic confiscated in 1945 as German property; individual SudetenGermans seek restitution for property confiscated in connection withtheir expulsion from Czechoslovakia after World War II; Austriananti-nuclear activists have revived blockades of the Czech-Austrianborder to protest operation of the Temelin nuclear power plant inthe Czech Republic
DenmarkIceland disputes the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line;Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the FaroeIslands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm; Faroese continueto study proposals for full independence; uncontested sovereigntydispute with Canada over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel betweenEllesmere Island and Greenland
DjiboutiDjibouti maintains economic ties and border accords with"Somaliland" leadership while maintaining some political ties tovarious factions in Somalia; thousands of Somali refugees awaitrepatriation in UNHCR camps in Djibouti
DominicaDominica is the only Caribbean state to challengeVenezuela's sovereignty claim over Aves Island and joins the otherisland nations in challenging whether the feature sustains humanhabitation, a criterion under the UN Convention on the Law of theSea (UNCLOS), which permits Venezuela to extend its ExclusiveEconomic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf claims over a largeportion of the Caribbean Sea
Dominican Republicincreasing numbers of illegal migrants from theDominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Ricoto find work
East TimorUN Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) hasmaintained about 1,000 peacekeepers in East Timor since 2002; EastTimor-Indonesia Boundary Committee continues to meet, survey, anddelimit the land boundary, but several sections of the boundaryespecially around the Oekussi enclave remain unresolved; Indonesiaand East Timor contest the sovereignty of the uninhabited coralisland of Pulau Batek/Fatu Sinai, which prevents delimitation of thenorthern maritime boundaries; many refugees who left East Timor in2003 still reside in Indonesia and refuse repatriation; Australiaand East Timor agreed in 2005 to defer the disputed portion of theboundary for 50 years and to split hydrocarbon revenues evenlyoutside the Joint Petroleum Development Area covered by the 2002Timor Sea Treaty; dispute with Australia has hampered creation of asouthern maritime boundary with Indonesia
Ecuadororganized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia penetrateacross Ecuador's shared border and caused over 20,000 refugees toflee into Ecuador in 2004
EgyptEgypt and Sudan retain claims to administer the two triangularareas that extend north and south of the 1899 Treaty boundary alongthe 22nd Parallel, but have withdrawn their military presence; Egyptis developing the Hala'ib Triangle north of the Treaty line; sincethe attack on Taba and other Egyptian resort towns on the Red Sea inOctober 2004, Egypt vigilantly monitors the Sinai and borders withIsrael and the Gaza Strip; Egypt does not extend domestic asylum tosome 70,000 persons who identify themselves as Palestinians but wholargely lack UNRWA assistance and, until recently, UNHCR recognitionas refugees
El Salvadorin 1992, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruledon the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the ElSalvador-Honduras boundary, but despite Organization of AmericanStates (OAS) intervention and a further ICJ ruling in 2003, fulldemarcation of the border remains stalled; the 1992 ICJ rulingadvised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulfof Fonseca advocating Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvadorcontinues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not identified in the ICJdecision, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca
Equatorial Guineain 2002, ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlementof Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulfof Guinea, but a dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon overan island at the mouth of the Ntem River, imprecisely definedmaritime coordinates in the ICJ decision, and the unresolved Bakasiallocation contribute to the delay in implementation; UN has beenpressing Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to pledge to resolve thesovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and create amaritime boundary in the hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay
EritreaEritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision,but despite international intervention, mutual animosities,accusations, and armed posturing have prevented demarcation;Ethiopia refuses to withdraw to the delimited boundary until claimedtechnical errors made by the EEBC that ignored "human geography" areaddressed, including the award of Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000war; Eritrea insists that the EEBC decision be implementedimmediately without modifications; in 2005 Eritrea began severelyrestricting the operations of the UN Peacekeeping Mission toEthiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) monitoring the 25km-wide TemporarySecurity Zone in Eritrea since 2000; Sudan sustains over 110,000Eritrean refugees and accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebelgroups
Estoniain 2005, Russia refuses to sign the 1996 technical borderagreement with Estonia when Estonia prepares a unilateraldeclaration referencing Soviet occupation and territorial losses;Russia demands better accommodation of Russian-speaking populationin Estonia; Estonian citizen groups continue to press forrealignment of the boundary based on the 1920 Tartu Peace Treatythat would bring the now divided ethnic Setu people and parts of theNarva region within Estonia; as a member state that forms part ofthe EU's external border, Estonia must implement the strict Schengenborder rules
EthiopiaEritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision,but mutual animosities, accusations, and armed posturing prevail,preventing demarcation despite international intervention; Ethiopiarefuses to withdraw to the delimited boundary until technical errorsmade by the EEBC that ignored "human geography" are addressed,including the award of Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000 war;Eritrea insists that the EEBC decision be implemented immediatelywithout modifications; Ethiopia has only an administrative line andno international border with the Oromo region of southern Somaliawhere it maintains alliances with local clans in opposition to theunrecognized Somali Interim Government in Mogadishu; "Somaliland"secessionists provide port facilities and trade ties to landlockedEthiopia; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Sudan havebeen delayed by civil war
Europa Islandclaimed by Madagascar
European Unionas a political union, the EU has no border disputeswith neighboring countries, but Estonia and Latvia have no landboundary agreements with Russia, Slovenia disputes its land andmaritime boundaries with Croatia, and Spain has territorial andmaritime disputes with Morocco; the EU has set up a Schengen area -consisting of 13 EU member states that have signed the conventionimplementing the Schengen agreements (1985 and 1990) on the freemovement of persons and the harmonization of border controls inEurope; the Schengen agreements ("acquis") became incorporated intoEU law with the implementation of the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam on 1May 1999; member states are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland,France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal,Spain, and Sweden; in addition, non-EU states Iceland and Norway (aspart of the Nordic Union) have been included in the Schengen areasince 1996 (full members in 2001), bringing the total currentmembership to 15; the UK (since 2000) and Ireland (since 2002) takepart in some aspects of the Schengen area, especially with respectto police and criminal matters; the 10 new member states that joinedthe EU in 2004 eventually are expected to participate in Schengen,following a transition period to upgrade their border controls andprocedures
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)Argentina, which claims theislands in its constitution and briefly occupied them by force in1982, agreed in 1995 to no longer seek settlement by force; UKcontinues to reject Argentine requests for sovereignty talks
Faroe Islandsbecause anticipated offshore hydrocarbon resourceshave not been realized, earlier Faroese proposals for fullindependence have been deferred; Iceland disputes the Faroe Islands'fisheries median line boundary; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland disputeDenmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extendsbeyond 200 nm
Fijinone
Finlandvarious groups in Finland advocate restoration of Kareliaand other areas ceded to the Soviet Union, but the FinnishGovernment asserts no territorial demands
FranceMadagascar claims the French territories of Bassas da India,Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island; Comorosclaims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; territorialdispute between Suriname and the French overseas department ofFrench Guiana; France asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica(Adelie Land); France and Vanuatu claim Matthew and Hunter Islands,east of New Caledonia
French GuianaSuriname claims area between Riviere Litani andRiviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) in French Guiana
French Polynesianone
French Southern and Antarctic LandsFrench claim to "Adelie Land" inAntarctica is not recognized by the US
GabonUN presses Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve thesovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and toestablish a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay; onlya few hundred out of the 20,000 Republic of the Congo refugees whofled militia fighting in 2000 remain in Gabon
Gambia, Theattempts to stem refugees, cross-border raids, armssmuggling, and other illegal activities by separatists from southernSenegal's Casamance region, as well as from conflicts in other westAfrican states
Gaza StripWest Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied withcurrent status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement- permanent status to be determined through further negotiation;Israel removed settlers and military personnel from the Gaza Stripin August 2005
GeorgiaRussia and Georgia agree on delimiting 80% of their commonborder, leaving certain small, strategic segments and the maritimeboundary unresolved; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such asthe Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Argun Gorge inAbkhazia; UN Observer Mission in Georgia has maintained apeacekeeping force in Georgia since 1993; Meshkheti Turks scatteredthroughout the former Soviet Union seek to return to Georgia;boundary with Armenia remains undemarcated; ethnic Armenian groupsin Javakheti region of Georgia seek greater autonomy from theGeorgian government; Azerbaijan and Georgia continue to discuss thealignment of their boundary at certain crossing areas
Germanynone
GhanaGhana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who workedin the cocoa plantations and escaped fighting in Cote d'Ivoire
Gibraltarin 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly byreferendum to reject any "shared sovereignty" arrangement; thegovernment of Gibraltar insists on equal participation in talksbetween the UK and Spain; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grantGibraltar even greater autonomy
Glorioso Islandsclaimed by Madagascar
GreeceGreece and Turkey continue discussions to resolve theircomplex maritime, air, territorial, and boundary disputes in theAegean Sea; Cyprus question with Turkey; Greece rejects the use ofthe name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia
Greenlandmanaged dispute between Canada and Denmark over HansIsland in the Kennedy Channel between Canada's Ellesmere Island andGreenland
Grenadanone
Guadeloupenone
Guamnone
GuatemalaGuatemalan squatters continue to settle in the rainforests of Belize's border region; Organization of American States(OAS) is attempting to revive the 2002 failed Differendum thatcreated a small adjustment to land boundary, a Guatemalan maritimecorridor in Caribbean, a joint ecological park for the disputedSapodilla Cays, and a substantial US-UK financial package;Guatemalans enter Mexico illegally seeking work or transit to the US
Guernseynone
Guineaconflicts among rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs inneighboring states have spilled over into Guinea, resulting indomestic instability; Sierra Leone has pressured Guinea to removeits forces from the town of Yenga, occupied since 1998
Guinea-Bissauattempts to stem refugees and cross-border raids, armssmuggling, and political instability from a separatist movement inSenegal's Casamance region
Guyanaall of the area west of the Essequibo (river) is claimed byVenezuela preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyanahas expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claimsbefore UNCLOS that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary withVenezuela extends into their waters; Suriname claims a triangle ofland between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in a historic disputeover the headwaters of the Courantyne; Guyana seeks arbitrationunder provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)to resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over the axis ofthe territorial sea boundary in potentially oil-rich waters
Haitisince 2004, about 8,000 peacekeepers from the UN StabilizationMission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) maintain civil order in Haiti; despiteefforts to control illegal migration, Haitians fleeing economicprivation and civil unrest continue to cross into the DominicanRepublic and sail to neighboring countries; Haiti claimsUS-administered Navassa Island
Heard Island and McDonald Islandsnone
Holy See (Vatican City)none
Hondurasin 1992, International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on thedelimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the ElSalvador-Honduras border, but despite Organization of AmericanStates (OAS) intervention and a further ICJ ruling in 2003, fulldemarcation of the border remains stalled; the 1992 ICJ rulingadvised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulfof Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; ElSalvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned in theICJ ruling, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca; Honduras claimsSapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize, but agreed to creation of ajoint ecological park and Guatemalan corridor in the Caribbean inthe failed 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum, which the OAS isattempting to revive; Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over a complex disputeover islands and maritime boundaries in the Caribbean Sea
Hong Kongnone
Howland Islandnone
Hungaryin 2004, Hungary amended the status law extending specialsocial and cultural benefits - and voted down a referendum to extenddual citizenship - to ethnic Hungarians living in neighboringstates, which have objected to such measures; consultations continuebetween Slovakia and Hungary over Hungary's completion of itsportion the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric dam project along theDanube; as a member state that forms part of the EU's externalborder, Hungary must implement the strict Schengen border rules
IcelandIceland disputes Denmark's alignment of the Faroe Islands'fisheries median line; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland disputeDenmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extendsbeyond 200 nm
Iles EparsesBassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juande Nova Island: claimed by MadagascarTromelin Island: claimed by Mauritius
Indiasince China and India launched a security and foreign policydialogue in 2005, consolidated discussions related to the disputeover most of their rugged, militarized boundary, regional nuclearproliferation, Indian claims that China transferred missiles toPakistan, and other matters continue; various talks andconfidence-building measures have cautiously begun to defusetensions over Kashmir, particularly since the October 2005earthquake in the region; Kashmir nevertheless remains the site ofthe world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute withportions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin),India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and NorthernAreas); in 2004, India and Pakistan instituted a cease fire inKashmir and in 2005, restored bus service across the highlymilitarized Line of Control; Pakistan has taken its dispute on theimpact and benefits of India's building the Baglihar Dam on theChenab River in Jammu and Kashmir to the World Bank for arbitration;UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) hasmaintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949; India does notrecognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964;disputes persist with Pakistan over Indus River water sharing; todefuse tensions and prepare for discussions on a maritime boundary,in 2004, India and Pakistan resurveyed a portion of the disputedboundary in Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch;Pakistani maps continue to show its Junagadh claim in Indian GujaratState; discussions with Bangladesh remain stalled to delimit a smallsection of river boundary, to exchange 162 miniscule enclaves inboth countries, to allocate divided villages, and to stop illegalcross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terroriststhrough the porous border; Bangladesh protests India's attempts tofence off high-traffic sections of the border; dispute withBangladesh over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bayof Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; India seekscooperation from Bhutan and Burma to keep Indian Nagaland and Assamseparatists from hiding in remote areas along the borders; JointBorder Committee with Nepal continues to demarcate minor disputedboundary sections; India maintains a strict border regime to keepout Maoist insurgents and control illegal cross-border activitiesfrom Nepal
Indian Oceansome maritime disputes (see littoral states)
IndonesiaEast Timor-Indonesia Boundary Committee continues to meet,survey, and delimit land boundary, but several sections of theboundary remain unresolved; many East Timorese refugees who left in2003 still reside in Indonesia and refuse repatriation; Indonesiaand East Timor contest the sovereignty of the uninhabited coralisland of Pulau Batek/Fatu Sinai, which hinders a decision on anorthern maritime boundary; a 1997 treaty between Indonesia andAustralia settled some parts of their maritime boundary butoutstanding issues remain; ICJ's award of Sipadan and Ligitanislands to Malaysia in 2002 left maritime boundary in thehydrocarbon-rich Celebes Sea in dispute, culminating in hostileconfrontations in March 2005 over concessions to the Ambalat oilblock; the ICJ decision has prompted Indonesia to assert claims toand to establish a presence on its smaller outer islands; Indonesiaand Singapore pledged in 2005 to finalize their 1973 maritimeboundary agreement by defining unresolved areas north of BatamIsland; Indonesian secessionists, squatters, and illegal migrantscreate repatriation problems for Papua New Guinea; piracy remains aproblem in the Malacca Strait
IranIran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed tributariesto the Helmand River in periods of drought; Iraq's lack of amaritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond themouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Iran and UAE disputeTunb Islands and Abu Musa Island, which are occupied by Iran; Iranstands alone among littoral states in insisting upon a division ofthe Caspian Sea into five equal sectors
Iraqcoalition forces assist Iraqis in monitoring boundary security;Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdictiondisputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf;Turkey has expressed concern over the status of Kurds in Iraq
IrelandIreland, Iceland, and the UK dispute Denmark's claim thatthe Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm
Isle of Mannone
IsraelWest Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with currentstatus subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement -permanent status to be determined through further negotiation;Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrieralong parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israelwithdrew its settlers and military from the Gaza Strip and from foursettlements in the West Bank in August 2005; Golan Heights isIsraeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of GolanHeights); since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN TruceSupervision Organization (UNTSO) headquartered in Jerusalem monitorceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolatedincidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in theregion
ItalyItaly's long coastline and developed economy entices tens ofthousands of illegal immigrants from southeastern Europe andnorthern Africa
Jamaicanone
Jan Mayennone
Japanthe sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu,Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan asthe "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern KurilIslands," occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered byRussia and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point tosigning a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities;Japan and South Korea claim Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do)occupied by South Korea since 1954; China and Taiwan dispute bothJapan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto(Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economiczone in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbonprospecting
Jarvis Islandnone
Jerseynone
Johnston Atollnone
Jordan2004 Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pendingdemarcation
Juan de Nova Islandclaimed by Madagascar
Kazakhstanin 2005, Kazakhstan agreed with Russia, Turkmenistan, andUzbekistan to commence demarcating their boundaries; delimitationwith Kyrgyzstan is complete; creation of a seabed boundary withTurkmenistan in the Caspian Sea remains unresolved; equidistantseabed treaties have been ratified with Azerbaijan and Russia in theCaspian Sea, but no resolution has been made on dividing the watercolumn among any of the littoral states
KenyaKenya served as an important mediator in brokering Sudan'snorth-south separation in February 2005; Kenya provides shelter toapproximately a quarter of a million refugees including Ugandans whoflee across the border periodically to seek protection from Lord'sResistance Army (LRA) rebels; the Kenya-Somalia border is open topastoralists and is susceptible to cross-border clan insurgencies;Kenya's administrative limits extend beyond the treaty border intothe Sudan, creating the Ilemi Triangle
Kingman Reefnone
Kiribatinone
Korea, NorthChina seeks to stem illegal migration of tens ofthousands of North Koreans escaping famine, economic privation, andpolitical oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereigntyof certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers and a section ofboundary around Paektu-san (mountain) is indefinite; MilitaryDemarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone hasseparated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritimedisputes with South over the Northern Limit Line; North Koreasupports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks(Tok-do/Take-shima)
Korea, SouthMilitary Demarcation Line within the 4-km wideDemilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953;periodic maritime disputes with North Korea over the Northern LimitLine; South Korea and Japan claim Liancourt Rocks(Tok-do/Take-shima), occupied by South Korea since 1954
KuwaitKuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritimeboundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in thePersian Gulf
Kyrgyzstandelimitation with Kazakhstan is complete; disputes inIsfara Valley delay completion of delimitation with Tajikistan;delimitation of 130 km of border with Uzbekistan is hampered byserious disputes around enclaves and other areas
LaosSoutheast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance tocheck the spread of avian flu; talks continue on completion ofdemarcation with Thailand but disputes remain over several areasalong Mekong River and Thai squatters; concern among MekongCommission members that China's construction of dams on the MekongRiver will affect water levels
LatviaRussia refuses to sign the 1997 boundary treaty due toLatvian insistence on a unilateral clarificatory declarationreferencing Soviet occupation of Latvia and territorial losses;Russia demands better Latvian treatment of ethnic Russians inLatvia; the Latvian parliament has not ratified its 1998 maritimeboundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily due to concerns over oilexploration rights; as a member state that forms part of the EU'sexternal border, Latvia must implement the strict Schengen borderrules
LebanonLebanese Government claims Shab'a Farms area ofIsraeli-occupied Golan Heights; the roughly 2,000-strong UN InterimForce in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been in place since 1978
Lesothonone
Liberiaalthough Liberia's domestic fighting among disparate rebelgroups, warlords, and youth gangs was declared over in 2003, civilunrest persists, and in 2004, 133,000 Liberian refugees remained inGuinea, 72,000 in Cote d'Ivoire, 67,000 in Sierra Leone, and 43,000in Ghana; Liberia, in turn, shelters refugees fleeing turmoil inCote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone; since 2003, the UN Mission inLiberia (UNMIL) has maintained about 18,000 peacekeepers in Liberia;the Cote d'Ivoire Government accuses Liberia of supporting Ivoirianrebels; UN sanctions ban Liberia from exporting diamonds and timber
LibyaLibya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeasternAlgeria and about 25,000 sq km in Niger in currently dormantdisputes; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside insouthern Libya
Liechtensteinin February 2005, the ICJ refused to rule on therestitution of Liechtenstein's land and property assets in the CzechRepublic confiscated in 1945 as German property
LithuaniaLithuania and Russia committed to demarcating theirboundary in 2006 in accordance with the land and maritime treatyratified by Russia in May 2003 and by Lithuania in 1999; Lithuaniaoperates a simplified transit regime for Russian nationals travelingfrom the Kaliningrad coastal exclave into Russia, while stillconforming, as a member state that forms part of the EU's externalborder, to strict Schengen border rules; the Latvian parliament hasnot ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania,primarily due to concerns over potential hydrocarbons
Luxembourgnone
Macaunone
Macedoniaethnic Albanians in Kosovo object to demarcation of theboundary with Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbiaand Montenegro delimitation agreement; Greece continues to rejectthe use of the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia
Madagascarclaims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands,and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France)
Malawidisputes with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (LakeMalawi) and the meandering Songwe River remain dormant
MalaysiaMalaysia has asserted sovereignty over the Spratly Islandstogether with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possiblyBrunei; while the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in theSouth China Sea" has eased tensions over the Spratly Islands, it isnot the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties;Malaysia was not party to the March 2005 joint accord among thenational oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam onconducting marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands;disputes continue over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore,Singapore's land reclamation, bridge construction, maritimeboundaries, and Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Putih - but partiesagree to ICJ arbitration on island dispute within three years; ICJawarded Ligitan and Sipadan islands, also claimed by Indonesia andPhilippines, to Malaysia but left maritime boundary in thehydrocarbon-rich Celebes Sea in dispute, culminating in hostileconfrontations in March 2005 over concessions to the Ambalat oilblock; separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslimsouthern provinces prompts measures to close and monitor border withMalaysia to stem terrorist activities; Philippines retains a nowdormant claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo; in 2003,Brunei and Malaysia ceased gas and oil exploration in their disputedoffshore and deepwater seabeds and negotiations have stalematedprompting consideration of international adjudication; Malaysia'sland boundary with Brunei around Limbang is in dispute; piracyremains a problem in the Malacca Strait
Maldivesnone
Malinone
Maltanone
Marshall Islandsclaims US territory of Wake Island
Martiniquenone
MauritaniaMauritanian claims to Western Sahara have been dormant inrecent years
MauritiusMauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administeredBritish Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants, whoreside chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship but noright to patriation in the UK; claims French-administered TromelinIsland
Mayotteclaimed by Comoros
Mexicoprolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practicesand infrastructure in the border region have strained water-sharingarrangements with the US; the US has stepped up efforts to stemnationals from Mexico, Central America, and other parts of the worldfrom illegally crossing the border with Mexico
Micronesia, Federated States ofnone
Midway Islandsnone
MoldovaMoldova and Ukraine have established joint customs posts tomonitor transit through Moldova's break-away Transnistria regionwhich remains under OSCE supervision
Monaconone
Mongolianone
Montenegroethnic Albanians in Kosovo refuse demarcation of theboundary with Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbiaand Montenegro delimitation agreement, which includes a section ofboundary with Montenegro
Montserratnone
Moroccoclaims and administers Western Sahara whose sovereigntyremains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained ineffect since September 1991, but attempts to hold a referendum havefailed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals;Morocco protests Spain's control over the coastal enclaves of Ceuta,Melilla, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, the islands of Penon deAlhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and surrounding waters; discussionshave not progressed on a comprehensive maritime delimitation settinglimits on exploration and refugee interdiction since Morocco's 2002rejection of Spain's unilateral designation of a median line fromthe Canary Islands; Morocco serves as one of the primary launchingareas of illegal migration into Spain from North Africa
Mozambiquenone
Namibiaborder commission has yet to resolve small residual disputeswith Botswana along the Caprivi Strip, including the Situngumarshlands along the Linyanti River; Botswana residents protestNamibia's planned construction of the Okavango hydroelectric dam onPopa Falls; managed dispute with South Africa over the location ofthe boundary in the Orange River; Namibia has supported and in 2004Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans between Botswana and Zambia tobuild a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizinga short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in theriver
Naurunone
Navassa Islandclaimed by Haiti, source of subsistence fishing
Nepaljoint border commission continues to work on small disputedsections of boundary with India; India has instituted a stricterborder regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgents and illegalcross-border activities
Netherlandsnone
Netherlands Antillesnone
New CaledoniaMatthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledoniaclaimed by France and Vanuatu
New Zealandasserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (RossDependency) [see Antarctica]
NicaraguaNicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 andagainst Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundaryinvolving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including theArchipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; the1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartiteresolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca,which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute overnavigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica
NigerLibya claims about 25,000 sq km in a currently dormantdispute; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint withNigeria, remains undemarcated; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heededthe Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitationtreaty which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeriaboundaries
NigeriaICJ ruled in 2002 on the entire Cameroon-Nigeria land andmaritime boundary but the parties formed a Joint Border Commissionto resolve differences bilaterally and have commenced withdemarcation in less-contested sections of the boundary, starting inLake Chad in the north; following the UN-brokered GreentreeAgreement of 12 June 2006, Nigeria, in completion of the 2002 ICJdecision on the Cameroon-Nigerian land boundary, handed sovereigntyof the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon on 14 August; all Nigerianmilitary forces have reportedly withdrawn from the region butNigeria will continue to maintain a police and administrativepresence in the southeastern "transition zone" for a period of up totwo years; Nigeria pledges to provide for the resettlement of thoseBakassi residents who wish to remain Nigerian citizens; the ICJruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-EquatorialGuinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, butimprecisely defined coordinates in the ICJ decision and asovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over anisland at the mouth of the Ntem River all contribute to the delay inimplementation; a joint task force was established in 2004 thatresolved disputes over and redrew the maritime and the 870-km landboundary with Benin on the Okpara River; only Nigeria and Cameroonhave heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify thedelimitation treaty which also includes the Chad-Niger andNiger-Nigeria boundaries
Niuenone
Norfolk Islandnone
Northern Mariana Islandsnone
NorwayNorway asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen MaudLand and its continental shelf); despite recent discussions, Russiaand Norway continue to dispute their maritime limits in the BarentsSea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limitswithin the Svalbard Treaty zone
Omanboundary agreement reportedly signed and ratified with UAE in2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and AlMadhah exclave, but details have not been made public
Pacific Oceansome maritime disputes (see littoral states)
Pakistanvarious talks and confidence-building measures cautiouslyhave begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, particularly since theOctober 2005 earthquake in the region; Kashmir nevertheless remainsthe site of the world's largest and most militarized territorialdispute with portions under the de facto administration of China(Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmirand Northern Areas); UN Military Observer Group in India andPakistan (UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group of peacekeeperssince 1949; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historicKashmir lands to China in 1964; in 2004, India and Pakistaninstituted a cease-fire in the Kashmir, and in 2005 restored busservice across the highly militarized Line of Control; Pakistan hastaken its dispute on the impact of India's building the Baglihar Damon the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir to the World Bank forarbitration and in general the two states still dispute Indus Riverwater sharing; to defuse tensions and prepare discussions on amaritime boundary, in 2004, India and Pakistan resurveyed a portionof the disputed the Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann ofKutch; Pakistani maps continue to show the Junagadh claim in India'sGujarat State; by 2005, Pakistan, with UN assistance, hadrepatriated 2.3 million Afghan refugees and had undertaken a censusto count the remaining million or more, many of whom remain at theirown choosing; Pakistan has sent troops into remote tribal areas tocontrol the border with Afghanistan and stem organized terrorist orother illegal cross-border activities; regular meetings with Afghanand Coalition allies aim to resolve periodic claims of boundaryencroachments
Palauborder delineation disputes being negotiated with Philippines,Indonesia
Palmyra Atollnone
Panamaorganized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia operatewithin the border region with Panama
Papua New Guinearelies on assistance from Australia to keep outillegal cross-border activities from primarily Indonesia, includinggoods smuggling, illegal narcotics trafficking, and squatters andsecessionists
Paracel Islandsoccupied by China, also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam
Paraguayunruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguayborders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and illegalnarcotics trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations
PeruChile and Ecuador rejected Peru's November 2005 unilateral lawto shift the axis of their joint treaty-defined maritime boundaryalong the parallel of latitude to an equidistance line which favorsPeru; organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia havepenetrated Peru's shared border; Peru does not support Bolivia'sclaim to restore maritime access through a sovereign corridorthrough Chile along the Peruvian border
PhilippinesPhilippines claims sovereignty over certain of theSpratly Islands, known locally as the Kalayaan (Freedom) Islands,also claimed by China, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam; the 2002"Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," haseased tensions in the Spratly Islands but falls short of a legallybinding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; inMarch 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines,and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismicactivities in the Spratly Islands; Philippines retains a dormantclaim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo based on theSultanate of Sulu's granting the Philippines Government power ofattorney to pursue a sovereignty claim on his behalf
Pitcairn Islandsnone
Polandas a member state that forms part of the EU's externalborder, Poland must implement the strict Schengen border rules
PortugalPortugal does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over theterritory of Olivenza based on a difference of interpretation of the1815 Congress of Vienna and the 1801 Treaty of Badajoz
Puerto Ricoincreasing numbers of illegal migrants from theDominican Republic cross the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico each yearlooking for work
Qatarnone
Reunionnone
RomaniaRomania and Ukraine have taken their dispute overUkrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Seamaritime boundary to the ICJ for adjudication; Romania also opposesUkraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the Danube borderthrough Ukraine to the Black Sea; Hungary amended the status lawextending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungariansin Romania, to which Romania had objected
Russiain 2005, China and Russia ratified the treaty to divide upthe islands in the Amur, Ussuri, and Argun Rivers, representing thefinal portion of their centuries-long border disputes; thesovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri,Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "NorthernTerritories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kurils," occupied by theSoviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, and claimed byJapan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treatyformally ending World War II hostilities; Russia and Georgia agreeon delimiting all but small, strategic segments of the land boundaryand the maritime boundary; OSCE observers monitor volatile areassuch as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Kodori Gorgein Abkhazia; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia signed equidistanceboundaries in the Caspian seabed but the littoral states have noconsensus on dividing the water column; Russia and Norway disputetheir maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rightsbeyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treatyzone; various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia(Kareliya) and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union following theSecond World War but the Finnish Government asserts no territorialdemands; in May 2005, Russia recalled its signatures to the 1996border agreements with Estonia (1996) and Latvia (1997), when thetwo Baltic states announced issuance of unilateral declarationsreferencing Soviet occupation and ensuing territorial losses; Russiademands better treatment of ethnic Russians in Estonia and Latvia;Estonian citizen groups continue to press for realignment of theboundary based on the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring thenow divided ethnic Setu people and parts of the Narva region withinEstonia; Lithuania and Russia committed to demarcating theirboundary in 2006 in accordance with the land and maritime treatyratified by Russia in May 2003 and by Lithuania in 1999; Lithuaniaoperates a simplified transit regime for Russian nationals travelingfrom the Kaliningrad coastal exclave into Russia, while stillconforming, as a member state that forms part of the EU's externalborder, to strict Schengen border rules; delimitation of landboundary with Ukraine is complete, but states have reneweddiscussions on demarcation; the dispute over the maritime boundarybetween Russia and Ukraine through the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azovremains unresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement andon-going expert-level discussions; discussions toward economic andpolitical union with Belarus advance slowly; Kazakhstan and Russiaboundary delimitation ratified November 2005 and demarcation isunderway; Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990 Maritime BoundaryAgreement with the US in the Bering Sea
RwandaTutsi, Hutu, Hema, Lendu, and other conflicting ethnicgroups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and variousgovernment forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region,transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of theCongo, Rwanda, and Uganda to gain control over populated areas andnatural resources - government heads pledge to end conflicts, butlocalized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts; DROCand Rwanda established a border verification mechanism in 2005 toaddress accusations of Rwandan military supporting Congolese rebelsand the Congo providing rebel Rwandan "Interhamwe" forces the meansand bases to attack Rwandan forces; as of 2004, Rwandan refugeeslived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Zambia
Saint Helenanone
Saint Kitts and Nevisjoins other Caribbean states to counterVenezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, acriterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend itsEEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea
Saint Luciajoins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela'sclaim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion underUNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelfover a large portion of the Caribbean Sea
Saint Pierre and Miquelonnone
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea
Samoanone
San Marinonone
Sao Tome and Principenone
Saudi Arabiadespite resistance from nomadic groups, the demarcationof the Saudi Arabia-Yemen boundary established under the 2000 JeddahTreaty is almost complete; Saudi Arabia still maintains theconcrete-filled pipe as a security barrier along sections of theborder with Yemen in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities;Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue discussions on a maritime boundarywith Iran; the United Arab Emirate 2006 Yearbook published a map andtext rescinding the 1974 boundary with Saudi Arabia, as stipulatedin a treaty filed with the UN in 1993, on the grounds that theagreement was not formally ratified
SenegalThe Gambia and Guinea-Bissau attempt to stem Senegalesecitizens from the Casamance region fleeing separatist violence,cross border raids, and arms smuggling
Serbiathe final status of the Serbian province of Kosovo remainsunresolved and several thousand peacekeepers from the UN InterimAdministration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) have administered theregion since 1999, with Kosovar Albanians overwhelmingly supportingand Serbian officials opposing Kosovo independence; theinternational community had agreed to begin a process to determinefinal status but contingency of solidifying multi-ethnic democracyin Kosovo has not been satisfied; ethnic Albanians in Kosovo refusedemarcation of the boundary with Macedonia in accordance with the2000 Macedonia-Serbia and Montenegro delimitation agreement; Serbiaand Montenegro delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia andHerzegovina, but sections with Serbia along the Drina River remainin dispute
Seychellestogether with Mauritius, Seychelles claims the ChagosArchipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory)
Sierra Leonedomestic fighting among disparate rebel groups,warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, andSierra Leone perpetuate insurgencies, street violence, looting, armstrafficking, ethnic conflicts, and refugees in border areas; UNMission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone pressuresGuinea to remove its forces from the town of Yenga occupied since1998
Singaporedisputes persist with Malaysia over deliveries of freshwater to Singapore, Singapore's extensive land reclamation works,bridge construction, maritime boundaries, and Pedra BrancaIsland/Pulau Batu Putih - parties agree to ICJ arbitration on islanddispute within three years; Indonesia and Singapore pledged in 2005to finalize their 1973 maritime boundary agreement by definingunresolved areas north of Batam Island; piracy remains a problem inthe Malacca Strait
SlovakiaHungary amended its status law extending special social andcultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia, to whichSlovakia had protested; consultations continue between Slovakia andHungary over Hungary's completion of its portion of theGabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric dam project along the Danube; as amember state that forms part of the EU's external border, Slovakiamust implement the strict Schengen border rules
Sloveniathe Croatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement,which would have ceded most of Piran Bay and maritime access toSlovenia and several villages to Croatia, remains unratified and indispute; as a member state that forms part of the EU's externalborder, Slovenia must implement the strict Schengen border rules tocurb illegal migration and commerce through southeastern Europewhile encouraging close cross-border ties with Croatia
Solomon IslandsAustralian Defense Force leads the RegionalAssistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) at the invitationof the Solomon Islands' Government to maintain civil and politicalorder and reinforce regional security
Somalia"Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities tolandlocked Ethiopia and establish commercial ties with regionalstates; "Puntland" and "Somaliland" "governments" seek support fromneighboring states in their secessionist aspirations and inconflicts with each other; Ethiopia has only an administrative linewith the Oromo region of southern Somalia and maintains allianceswith local Somali clans opposed to the unrecognized Somali InterimGovernment, which plans eventual relocation from Kenya to Mogadishu;rival militia and clan fighting in southern Somalia periodicallyspills over into Kenya
South AfricaSouth Africa has placed military along the border tostem the thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing to find work and escapepolitical persecution; managed dispute with Namibia over thelocation of the boundary in the Orange River
South Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsArgentina, which claimsthe islands in its constitution and briefly occupied the islands byforce in 1982, agreed in 1995 to no longer seek settlement by force
Southern OceanAntarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarcticaentry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UKassert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf inthe Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest inextending those continental shelf claims under the United NationsConvention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersearidges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land ormaritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves(the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formalclaims exist in the waters in the sector between 90 degrees west and150 degrees west
Spainin 2003, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly byreferendum to remain a British colony and against a "total sharedsovereignty" arrangement while demanding participation in talksbetween the UK and Spain; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grantGibraltar greater autonomy; Morocco protests Spain's control overthe coastal enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and the islands of Penon deVelez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, andsurrounding waters; Morocco serves as the primary launching site ofillegal migration into Spain from North Africa; Portugal does notrecognize Spanish sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza basedon a difference of interpretation of the 1815 Congress of Vienna andthe 1801 Treaty of Badajoz
Spratly Islandsall of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China,Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and thePhilippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zonethat encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands but hasnot publicly claimed the reef; claimants in November 2002 signed the"Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea,"which has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "codeof conduct"; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, thePhilippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marineseismic activities in the Spratly Islands
Sri Lankanone
Sudanthe effects of Sudan's almost constant ethnic and rebelmilitia fighting since the mid-twentieth century have penetrated allof its border states that provide shelter for fleeing refugees andcover to disparate domestic and foreign conflicting elements; since2003, Janjawid armed militia and Sudanese military have driven about200,000 Darfur region refugees into eastern Chad; large numbers ofSudanese refugees have also fled to Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, theCentral African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo;southern Sudan provides shelter to Ugandans seeking periodicprotection from soldiers of the Lord's Resistance Army; Sudanaccuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; efforts todemarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia have been delayed bycivil and ethnic fighting in Sudan; Kenya's administrative boundaryextends into the southern Sudan, creating the "Ilemi Triangle";Egypt and Sudan retain claims to administer triangular areas thatextend north and south of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22ndParallel, but have withdrawn their military presence; Egypt iseconomically developing the "Hala'ib Triangle" north of the TreatyLine; periodic violent skirmishes with Sudanese residents over waterand grazing rights persist among related pastoral populations fromthe Central African Republic along the border