Chapter LXXXIII: Section 3: , Taipei, Taiwan, telephone: 886 (2) 2162-2000, FAX (18)

Cyprus
hostilities in 1974 divided the island into two de facto
autonomous entities, the internationally recognized Cypriot
Government and a Turkish-Cypriot community (north Cyprus); the
1,000-strong UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has served in
Cyprus since 1964 and maintains the buffer zone between north and
south; March 2003 reunification talks failed, but Turkish-Cypriots
later opened their borders to temporary visits by Greek Cypriots; on
24 April 2004, the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities
voted in simultaneous and parallel referenda on whether to approve
the UN-brokered Annan Plan that would have ended the thirty-year
division of the island by establishing a new "United Cyprus
Republic," a majority of Greek Cypriots voted "no"; on 1 May 2004,
Cyprus entered the European Union still divided, with the EU's body
of legislation and standards (acquis communitaire) suspended in the
north

Czech Republic
in February 2005, the ICJ refused to rule on the
restitution of Liechtenstein's land and property assets in the Czech
Republic confiscated in 1945 as German property; individual Sudeten
Germans seek restitution for property confiscated in connection with
their expulsion after World War II

Denmark
Iceland disputes the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line;
Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe
Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm; Faroese continue
to study proposals for full independence; uncontested sovereignty
dispute with Canada over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between
Ellesmere Island and Greenland

Djibouti
Djibouti maintains economic ties and border accords with
"Somaliland" leadership while maintaining some political ties to
various factions in Somalia; although most of the 26,000 Somali
refugees in Djibouti who fled civil unrest in the early 1990s have
returned, several thousand still await repatriation in UNHCR camps

Dominica
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

Dominican Republic
increasing numbers of illegal migrants from the
Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico
to find work

East Timor
UN Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) has
maintained about a thousand peacekeepers in East Timor since 2002;
East Timor-Indonesia Boundary Committee continues to meet, survey,
and delimit the land boundary, but several sections of the boundary
especially around the Oekussi enclave remain unresolved; Indonesia
and East Timor contest the sovereignty of the uninhabited coral
island of Palau Batek/Fatu Sinai, which prevents delimitation of the
northern maritime boundaries; many of 28,000 East Timorese refugees
still residing in Indonesia in 2003 have returned, but many continue
to refuse repatriation; East Timor and Australia continue to meet
but disagree over how to delimit a permanent maritime boundary and
share unexploited potential petroleum resources that fall outside
the Joint Petroleum Development Area covered by the 2002 Timor Sea
Treaty; dispute with Australia also hampers creation of a southern
maritime boundary with Indonesia

Ecuador
organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia penetrate
across Ecuador's shared border and caused over 20,000 refugees to
flee into Ecuador in 2004

Egypt
Egypt and Sudan retain claims to administer the two triangular
areas that extend north and south of the 1899 Treaty boundary along
the 22nd Parallel, but have withdrawn their military presence; Egypt
is developing the Hala'ib Triangle north of the Treaty line; since
the attack on Taba and other Egyptian resort towns on the Red Sea in
October 2004, Egypt vigilantly monitors the Sinai and borders with
Israel and the Gaza Strip; Egypt does not extend domestic asylum to
some 70,000 persons who identify as Palestinians but who largely
lack UNRWA assistance and, until recently, UNHCR recognition as
refugees

El Salvador
in 1992, the ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones"
(disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras boundary, but
despite OAS intervention and a further ICJ ruling in 2003, full
demarcation of the border remains stalled; the 1992 ICJ ruling
advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf
of Fonseca advocating Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador
continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not identified in the ICJ
decision, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca

Equatorial Guinea
in 2002, ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement
of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf
of Guinea, but a dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over
an island at the mouth of the Ntem River, imprecisely defined
maritime coordinates in the ICJ decision, and the unresolved Bakasi
allocation contribute to the delay in implementation; UN has been
pressing Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to pledge to resolve the
sovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and create a
maritime boundary in the hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay

Eritrea
Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002
Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision,
but despite international intervention, mutual animosities,
accusations and armed posturing prevail, preventing demarcation;
Ethiopia refuses to withdraw to the delimited boundary until
technical errors made 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
immediately without modifications; since 2000, the UN Peacekeeping
Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) monitors the 25km-wide
Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea until the demarcation; Sudan
accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; Eritrea
protests Yemeni fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Eritrea
by the ICJ in 1999

Estonia
in 1996, the Estonia-Russia technical border agreement was
initialed but both states have been hesitant to sign and ratify it,
with Russia asserting that Estonia needs to better assimilate
Russian-speakers and Estonian groups pressing for realignment of the
boundary based more closely on the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that
would bring the now divided ethnic Setu people and parts of the
Narva region within Estonia; as a member state that forms part of
the EU's external border, Estonia must implement the strict Schengen
border rules

Ethiopia
Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002
Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision,
but despite international intervention, mutual animosities,
accusations and armed posturing prevail, preventing demarcation;
Ethiopia refuses to withdraw to the delimited boundary until
technical errors made 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
immediately without modifications; Ethiopia has only an
administrative line and no international border with the Oromo
region of southern Somalia where it maintains alliances with local
clans in opposition to the unrecognized Somali Interim Government in
Mogadishu; "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities and
trade ties to landlocked Ethiopia; the UNHCR expects most of the
remaining 23,000 Somali refugees in Ethiopia to be repatriated in
2005; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Sudan have been
delayed by civil war

Europa Island
claimed by Madagascar

European Union
the EU has no border disputes with neighboring
countries; it has set up a Schengen area - consisting of 13 EU
member states that have signed the convention implementing the
Schengen agreements (1985 and 1990) on the free movement of persons
and the harmonization of border controls in Europe; the Schengen
agreements ("acquis") became incorporated into EU law with the
implementation of the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam on 1 May 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 (as part of the Nordic
Union) have been included in the Schengen area since 1996 (full
members in 2001), bringing the total current membership to 15; the
UK (since 2000) and Ireland (since 2002) take part in some aspects
of the Schengen area, especially with respect to police and criminal
matters; the 10 new member states that joined the EU in 2004
eventually are expected to participate in Schengen, following a
transition period to upgrade their border controls and procedures

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
Argentina, which claims the
islands in its constitution and briefly occupied the islands by
force in 1982, agreed in 1995 to no longer seek settlement by force;
UK continues to reject Argentine requests for sovereignty talks

Faroe Islands
because anticipated offshore hydrocarbon resources
have not been realized, earlier Faroese proposals for full
independence have been deferred; Iceland disputes the Faroe Islands'
fisheries median line boundary; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute
Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends
beyond 200 nm

Fiji
none

Finland
various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia
and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union, but the Finnish
Government asserts no territorial demands

France
Madagascar claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso
Islands, and Juan de Nova Island; Comoros claims Mayotte; Mauritius
claims Tromelin Island; territorial dispute between Suriname and the
French overseas department of French Guiana; France asserts a
territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie Land); France and Vanuatu
claim Matthew and Hunter Islands, east of New Caledonia

French Guiana
Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and
Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) in French Guiana

French Polynesia
none

French Southern and Antarctic Lands
French claim to "Adelie Land" in
Antarctica is not recognized by the United States

Gabon
UN presses Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve the
sovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and to
establish a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay; only
a few hundred out of the 20,000 Republic of the Congo refugees who
fled militia fighting in 2000 remain in Gabon

Gambia, The
attempts to stem refugees, cross-border raids, arms
smuggling, and other illegal activities by separatists from southern
Senegal's Casamance region as well as from conflicts in other west
African states

Gaza Strip
West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with
current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement
- permanent status to be determined through further negotiation;
Israel announced its intention to pull out settlers and withdraw
from the Gaza Strip in 2005

Georgia
Russia and Georgia agree on delimiting 80% of their common
border, leaving certain small, strategic segments and the maritime
boundary unresolved; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such as
the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Argun Gorge in
Abkhazia; UN Observer Mission in Georgia has maintained a
peacekeeping force in Georgia since 1993; Meshkheti Turks scattered
throughout the former Soviet Union seek to return to Georgia;
boundary with Armenia remains undemarcated; ethnic Armenian groups
in Javakheti region of Georgia seek greater autonomy from the
Georgian government; Azerbaijan and Georgia cannot resolve the
alignment of their boundary at certain crossing areas

Germany
none

Ghana
Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked
in the cocoa plantations and escaped rebel fighting in Cote d'Ivoire

Gibraltar
in 2003, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by
referendum to remain a British colony and against a "total shared
sovereignty" arrangement while demanding participation in talks
between the UK and Spain; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant
Gibraltar even greater autonomy

Glorioso Islands
claimed by Madagascar

Greece
Greece and Turkey continue discussions to resolve their
complex maritime, air, territorial, and boundary disputes in the
Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Turkey; Greece rejects the use of
the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia

Greenland
uncontested dispute between Canada and Denmark over Hans
Island in the Kennedy Channel between Canada's Ellesmere Island and
Greenland

Grenada
none

Guadeloupe
none

Guam
none

Guatemala
Guatemalan squatters continue to settle in the rain
forests of Belize's border region; OAS is attempting to revive the
2002 failed Differendum that created a small adjustment to land
boundary, a Guatemalan maritime corridor in Caribbean, a joint
ecological park for the disputed Sapodilla Cays, and a substantial
US-UK financial package; Guatemalans enter Mexico illegally seeking
work or transit to the US

Guernsey
none

Guinea
conflicts among rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in
neighboring states has spilled over into Guinea, resulting in
domestic instability; Sierra Leone pressures Guinea to remove its
forces from the town of Yenga occupied since 1998

Guinea-Bissau
attempts to stem refugees and cross-border raids, arms
smuggling, and political instability from a separatist movement in
Senegal's Casamance region

Guyana
all of the area west of the Essequibo (river) is claimed by
Venezuela preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana
has expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims
before UNCLOS that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with
Venezuela extends into their waters; Suriname claims a triangle of
land between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in a historic dispute
over the headwaters of the Courantyne; Guyana seeks UNCLOS
arbitration to resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over
the axis of the territorial sea boundary in potentially oil-rich
waters

Haiti
since 2004, about 8,000 peacekeepers from the UN Stabilization
Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) maintain civil order in Haiti; despite
efforts to control illegal migration, Haitians fleeing economic
privation and civil unrest continue to cross into Dominican Republic
and to sail to neighboring countries; Haiti claims US-administered
Navassa Island

Heard Island and McDonald Islands
none

Holy See (Vatican City)
none

Honduras
in 1992, ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones"
(disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border, but despite
OAS intervention and a further ICJ ruling in 2003, full demarcation
of the border remains stalled; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a
tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca
with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador
continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned in the ICJ
ruling, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca; Honduras claims
Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize, but agreed to creation of a
joint ecological park and Guatemalan corridor in the Caribbean in
the failed 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum, which the OAS is
attempting to revive; Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in
1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over a complex dispute
over islands and maritime boundaries in the Caribbean Sea

Hong Kong
none

Howland Island
none

Hungary
in 2004, Hungary amended the status law extending special
social and cultural benefits and voted down a referendum to extend
dual citizenship to ethnic Hungarians living in neighboring states,
which have objected to such measures; consultations continue between
Slovakia and Hungary over Hungary's completion of its portion the
Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric dam project along the Danube; as a
member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Hungary
must implement the strict Schengen border rules

Iceland
Iceland disputes Denmark's alignment of the Faroe Islands'
fisheries median line; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute
Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends
beyond 200 nm

India
China and India launched a security and foreign policy
dialogue in 2005, consolidating discussions related to the dispute
over most of their rugged, militarized boundary, regional nuclear
proliferation, Indian claims that China transferred missiles to
Pakistan, and other matters; recent talks and confidence-building
measures have begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, site of the
world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with
portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin),
India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern
Areas); in 2004, India and Pakistan instituted a cease fire in the
Kashmir and in 2005, restored bus service across the highly
militarized Line of Control; Pakistan has taken its dispute on the
impact and benefits of India's building the Baglihar dam on the
Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir to the World Bank for arbitration;
UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has
maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949; India does not
recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964;
disputes persist with Pakistan over Indus River water sharing; to
defuse tensions and prepare for discussions on a maritime boundary,
in 2004, India and Pakistan resurveyed a portion of the disputed
boundary in Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch;
Pakistani maps continue to show Junagadh claim in Indian Gujarat
State; discussions with Bangladesh remain stalled to delimit a small
section of river boundary, to exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in
both countries, to allocate divided villages, and to stop illegal
cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists
through the porous border; Bangladesh protests India's attempts to
fence off high-traffic sections; dispute with Bangladesh over New
Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters
maritime boundary delimitation; India seeks cooperation from Bhutan
and Burma to keep Indian Nagaland and Assam separatists from hiding
in remote areas along the borders; Joint Border Committee with Nepal
continues to demarcate minor disputed boundary sections; India has
instituted a stricter border regime to keep out Maoist insurgents
and control illegal cross-border activities from Nepal

Indian Ocean
some maritime disputes (see littoral states)

Indonesia
East Timor-Indonesia Boundary Committee continues to meet,
survey and delimit land boundary, but several sections of the
boundary remain unresolved; Indonesia and East Timor contest the
sovereignty of the uninhabited coral island of Palau Batek/Fatu
Sinai, which hinders a decision on a northern maritime boundary; a
1997 treaty between Indonesia and Australia settled some parts of
their maritime boundary but outstanding issues remain; ICJ's award
of Sipadan and Ligitan islands to Malaysia in 2002 left maritime
boundary in the hydrocarbon-rich Celebes Sea in dispute, culminating
in hostile confrontations in March 2005 over concessions to the
Ambalat oil block; the ICJ decision has prompted Indonesia to assert
claims to and to establish a presence on its smaller outer islands;
Indonesia and Singapore pledged in 2005 to finalize their 1973
maritime boundary agreement by defining unresolved areas north of
Batam Island; Indonesian secessionists, squatters, and illegal
migrants create repatriation problems for Papua New Guinea; piracy
remains a problem in the Malacca Strait

Iran
Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed tributaries
to the Helmand River in periods of drought; Iraq's lack of a
maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the
mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Iran and UAE engage
in direct talks and solicit Arab League support to resolve disputes
over Iran's occupation of Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island; Iran
stands alone among littoral states in insisting upon a division of
the Caspian Sea into five equal sectors

Iraq
coalition forces assist Iraqis in monitoring boundary security;
Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction
disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf;
Turkey has expressed concern over the status of Kurds in Iraq

Ireland
Ireland, Iceland, and the UK dispute Denmark's claim that
the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm

Israel
West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current
status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement -
permanent status to be determined through further negotiation;
Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier
along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel
announced its intention to pull out Israeli settlers and withdraw
from the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the northern West Bank
in 2005; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the
Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights); since 1948, about 350
peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO)
headquartered in Jerusalem monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice
agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist
other UN personnel in the region

Italy
Italy's long coastline and developed economy entices tens of
thousands of illegal immigrants from southeastern Europe and
northern Africa

Jamaica
none

Jan Mayen
none

Japan
the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu,
Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as
the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kuril
Islands", occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by
Russia and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to
signing 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 both
Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto
(Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic
zone in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon
prospecting

Jarvis Island
none

Jersey
none

Johnston Atoll
none

Jordan
2004 Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending
demarcation

Juan de Nova Island
claimed by Madagascar

Kazakhstan
in 2005, Kazakhstan agreed with Russia, Turkmenistan, and
Uzbekistan to commence demarcating their boundaries; delimitation
with Kyrgyzstan is complete; creation of a seabed boundary with
Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea remains unresolved; equidistant
seabed treaties have been ratified with Azerbaijan and Russia in the
Caspian Sea, but no resolution has been made on dividing the water
column among any of the littoral states

Kenya
Kenya served as an important mediator in brokering Sudan's
north-south separation in February 2005; Kenya provides shelter to
approximately a quarter of a million refugees including Ugandans who
flee across the border periodically to seek protection from Lord's
Resistance Army (LRA) rebels; Kenya's administrative limits extend
beyond the treaty border into the Sudan, creating the Ilemi Triangle

Kingman Reef
none

Kiribati
none

Korea, North
China seeks to stem illegal migration of tens of
thousands of North Koreans escaping famine, economic privation, and
political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty
of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers and a section of
boundary around Paektu-san (mountain) is indefinite; Military
Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has
separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime
disputes with South over the Northern Limit Line; North Korea
supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks
(Tok-do/Take-shima)

Korea, South
Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide
Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953;
periodic maritime disputes with North Korea over the Northern Limit
Line; South Korea and Japan claim Liancourt Rocks
(Tok-do/Take-shima), occupied by South Korea since 1954

Kuwait
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime
boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the
Persian Gulf

Kyrgyzstan
delimitation with Kazakhstan is complete; disputes in
Isfara Valley delay completion of delimitation with Tajikistan;
delimitation is underway with Uzbekistan but serious disputes around
enclaves and elsewhere continue to mar progress for some 130 km of
border

Laos
Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to
check the spread of avian flu; Laos and Thailand pledge to complete
demarcation of boundaries in 2005, while ongoing disputes over
squatters and boundary encroachment by Thailand including Mekong
River islets persist; in 2004 Cambodian-Laotian boundary commission
agrees to re-erect missing markers in two adjoining provinces;
concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of
dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels

Latvia
the Latvian-Russian boundary treaty of 1997 remains unsigned
and unratified with Russia linking it to better Latvian treatment of
ethnic Russians and Latvian politicians demanding Russian agreement
to a declaration that admits Soviet aggression during the Second
World War and other issues; the Latvian parliament has not ratified
its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily due to
concerns over oil exploration rights; as a member state that forms
part of the EU's external border, Latvia must implement the strict
Schengen border rules

Lebanon
intense international pressure prompts the removal of Syrian
troops and intelligence personnel from Lebanon; Lebanese Government
claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; the
roughly 2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been
in place since 1978

Lesotho
none

Liberia
although Liberia's domestic fighting among disparate rebel
groups, warlords, and youth gangs was declared over in 2003, civil
unrest persists, and in 2004, 133,000 Liberian refugees remained in
Guinea, 72,000 in Cote d'Ivoire, 67,000 in Sierra Leone, and 43,000
in Ghana; Liberia, in turn, shelters refugees fleeing turmoil in
Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone; since 2003, the UN Mission in
Liberia (UNMIL) has maintained about 18,000 peacekeepers in Liberia;
the Cote d'Ivoire Government accuses Liberia of supporting Ivoirian
rebels; UN sanctions ban Liberia from exporting diamonds and timber

Libya
Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern
Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in Niger in currently dormant
disputes; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in
southern Libya

Liechtenstein
in February 2005, the ICJ refused to rule on the
restitution of Liechtenstein's land and property assets in the Czech
Republic confiscated in 1945 as German property

Lithuania
in 2003, the Lithuania-Russia land and maritime boundary
treaty was ratified and a transit regime established through
Lithuania linking Russia and its Kaliningrad coastal exclave,
leaving only improvements to the border demarcation in 2005; by
2004, a third of the Belarus-Lithuania boundary had been demarcated;
the Latvian parliament has not ratified its 1998 maritime boundary
treaty with Lithuania, primarily due to concerns over oil; as a
member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Lithuania
must implement the strict Schengen border rules

Luxembourg
none

Macau
none

Macedonia
ethnic Albanians in Kosovo object to demarcation of the
boundary with Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia
and Montenegro delimitation agreement; Greece continues to reject
the use of the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia

Madagascar
claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands,
and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France)

Malawi
disputes with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake
Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River remain dormant

Malaysia
Malaysia has asserted sovereignty over the Spratly Islands
together with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly
Brunei; while the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the
South China Sea" has eased tensions over the Spratly Islands, it is
not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties;
Malaysia was not party to the March 2005 joint accord among the
national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam on
conducting marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands;
disputes continue over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore,
Singapore's land reclamation, bridge construction, maritime
boundaries, and Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Putih - but parties
agree to ICJ arbitration on island dispute within three years; ICJ
awarded Ligitan and Sipadan islands, also claimed by Indonesia and
Philippines, to Malaysia but left maritime boundary in the
hydrocarbon-rich Celebes Sea in dispute, culminating in hostile
confrontations in March 2005 over concessions to the Ambalat oil
block; separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim
southern provinces prompts measures to close and monitor border with
Malaysia to stem terrorist activities; Philippines retains a now
dormant claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo; in 2003,
Brunei and Malaysia ceased gas and oil exploration in their disputed
offshore and deepwater seabeds and negotiations have stalemated
prompting consideration of international adjudication; Malaysia's
land boundary with Brunei around Limbang is in dispute; piracy
remains a problem in the Malacca Strait

Maldives
none

Mali
none

Malta
none

Man, Isle of
none

Marshall Islands
claims US territory of Wake Island

Martinique
none

Mauritania
Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara have been dormant in
recent years

Mauritius
Mauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered
British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants, who
reside chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship but no
right to patriation in the UK; claims French-administered Tromelin
Island

Mayotte
claimed by Comoros

Mexico
prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practices
and infrastructure in the border region have strained water-sharing
arrangements with the US; the US has stepped up efforts to stem
nationals from Mexico, Central America, and other parts of the world
from illegally crossing the border with Mexico

Micronesia, Federated States of
none

Midway Islands
none

Moldova
Moldova and Ukraine have established joint customs posts to
monitor transit through Moldova's break-away Transnistria Region
which remains under OSCE supervision

Monaco
none

Mongolia
none

Montserrat
none

Morocco
claims and administers Western Sahara whose sovereignty
remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in
effect since September 1991, but attempts to hold a referendum have
failed 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 de
Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and surrounding waters; discussions
have not progressed on a comprehensive maritime delimitation setting
limits on exploration and refugee interdiction since Morocco's 2002
rejection of Spain's unilateral designation of a median line from
the Canary Islands; Morocco serves as one of the primary launching
areas of illegal migration into Spain from North Africa

Mozambique
none

Namibia
border commission has yet to resolve small residual disputes
with Botswana along the Caprivi Strip, including the Situngu
marshlands along the Linyanti River; Botswana residents protest
Namibia's planned construction of the Okavango hydroelectric dam on
Popa Falls; managed dispute with South Africa over the location of
the boundary in the Orange River; Namibia has supported and in 2004
Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans between Botswana and Zambia to
build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing
a short, but not clearly delimited Botswana-Zambia, boundary in the
river

Nauru
none

Navassa Island
claimed by Haiti, source of subsistence fishing

Nepal
joint border commission continues to work on small disputed
sections of boundary with India; India has instituted a stricter
border regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgents and illegal
cross-border activities

Netherlands
none

Netherlands Antilles
none

New Caledonia
Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia
claimed by France and Vanuatu

New Zealand
asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross
Dependency) [see Antarctica]

Nicaragua
Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and
against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary
involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the
Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; the
1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite
resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca,
which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute over
navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica

Niger
Libya claims about 25,000 sq km in a currently dormant
dispute; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with
Nigeria, remains undemarcated, and states expect a ruling in 2005
from the ICJ over the disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; only
Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's
admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes
Chad and Niger

Nigeria
ICJ ruled in 2002 on the entire Cameroon-Nigeria land and
maritime boundary but the parties formed a Joint Border Commission
to resolve differences bilaterally and have commenced with
demarcation in less-contested sections of the boundary, starting in
Lake Chad in the north; Nigeria initially rejected cession of the
Bakassi Peninsula, then agreed, but has yet to withdraw its forces
while much of the indigenous population opposes cession; in 2004,
some 17,000 Nigerian refugees fleeing ethnic conflicts between
pastoralists and farmers in 2002 still reside in Cameroon; the ICJ
ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial
Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but
imprecisely defined coordinates in the ICJ decision, the unresolved
Bakasi allocation, and a sovereignty dispute between Equatorial
Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River
all contribute to the delay in implementation; a joint task force
was established in 2004 that resolved disputes over and redrew the
maritime and the 870-km land boundary with Benin on the Okpara
River; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad
Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also
includes Chad and Niger

Niue
none

Norfolk Island
none

Northern Mariana Islands
none

Norway
Norway asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud
Land and its continental shelf); despite recent discussions, Russia
and Norway continue to dispute their maritime limits in the Barents
Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits
within the Svalbard Treaty zone

Oman
boundary agreement reportedly signed and ratified with UAE in
2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al
Madhah exclave, but details have not been made public

Pacific Ocean
some maritime disputes (see littoral states)

Pakistan
recent talks and confidence-building measures have begun to
defuse tensions over Kashmir, site of the world's largest and most
militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto
administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and
Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); UN Military Observer
Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group
of peacekeepers since 1949; India does not recognize Pakistan's
ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; in 2004, India and
Pakistan instituted a cease fire in the Kashmir, and in 2005
restored bus service across the highly militarized Line of Control;
Pakistan has taken its dispute on the impact and benefits of India's
building the Baglihar dam on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir
to the World Bank for arbitration and in general the two states
still dispute Indus River water sharing; to defuse tensions and
prepare for discussions on a maritime boundary, India and Pakistan
resurveyed a portion of the disputed Sir Creek estuary at the mouth
of the Rann of Kutch in 2004; Pakistani maps continue to show
Junagadh in India's Gujarat State; by 2005, Pakistan with UN
assistance had repatriated 2.3 million Afghan refugees and has
undertaken a census to count the remaining million or more, many of
whom remain at their own choosing; Pakistan maintains troops in
remote tribal areas to control the border with Afghanistan and root
out organized terrorist and other illegal cross-border activities;
regular meetings with Afghan and Coalition allies aim to resolve
periodic claims of boundary encroachments

Palau
border delineation disputes being negotiated with Philippines,
Indonesia

Palmyra Atoll
none

Panama
organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia operate
within the border region with Panama

Papua New Guinea
relies on assistance from Australia to keep out
illegal cross-border activities from primarily Indonesia, including
goods smuggling, illegal narcotics trafficking, and squatters and
secessionists

Paracel Islands
occupied by China, also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam

Paraguay
unruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay
borders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and illegal
narcotics trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations

Peru
Peru proposes changing its latitudinal maritime boundary with
Chile to an equidistance line with a southwestern axis; organized
illegal narcotics operations in Colombia have penetrated Peru's
shared border; Peru does not support Bolivia's claim to restore
maritime access through a sovereign corridor through Chile along the
Peruvian border

Philippines
The Philippines claims sovereignty over certain of the
Spratly 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," has
eased tensions in the Spratly Islands but falls short of a legally
binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; in
March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines,
and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic
activities in the Spratly Islands; Philippines retains a dormant
claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo based on the
Sultanate of Sulu's granting the Philippines Government power of
attorney to pursue a sovereignty claim on his behalf

Pitcairn Islands
none

Poland
as a member state that forms part of the EU's external
border, Poland must implement the strict Schengen border rules

Portugal
none

Puerto Rico
increasing numbers of illegal migrants from the
Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico each year
looking for work

Qatar
none

Reunion
none

Romania
Romania and Ukraine have taken their dispute over
Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea
maritime boundary to the ICJ for adjudication; Romania also opposes
Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the Danube border
through Ukraine to the Black Sea; Hungary amended the status law
extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians
in Romania, to which Romania had objected

Russia
in 2004, China and Russia divided up the islands in the Amur,
Ussuri, and Argun Rivers, ending a century-old border dispute; the
sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri,
Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern
Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kurils," occupied by the
Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, and claimed by
Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty
formally ending World War II hostilities; Russia and Georgia agree
on delimiting 80% of their common border, leaving certain small,
strategic segments and the maritime boundary unresolved; OSCE
observers monitor volatile areas such as the Pankisi Gorge in the
Akhmeti region and the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia; equidistant seabed
treaties were signed and ratified with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in
the Caspian Sea but no consensus exists on dividing the water column
among the littoral states; Russia and Norway dispute their maritime
limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond
Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone;
various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia and other
areas ceded to the Soviet Union following the Second World War but
the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands; in 1996, the
Estonia-Russia technical border agreement was initialed but both
have been hesitant to sign and ratify it, with Russia asserting that
Estonia needs to better assimilate Russian-speakers and Estonian
groups advocating realignment of the boundary based more closely on
the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic
Setu people and parts of the Narva region within Estonia; the
Latvian-Russian boundary treaty of 1997 remains unsigned and
unratified with Russia linking it to better Latvian treatment of
ethnic Russians and Latvian politicians demanding Russian agreement
to a declaration that admits Soviet aggression during the Second
World War and other issues; in 2003, the Lithuania-Russia land and
maritime boundary treaty was ratified and a transit regime
established through Lithuania linking Russia and its Kaliningrad
coastal exclave, leaving only improvements to the border demarcation
in 2005; delimitation of land boundary with Ukraine is complete, but
states have agreed to defer demarcation; Russia and Ukraine continue
talks but still dispute the alignment of a maritime boundary through
the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov; Kazakhstan and Russia continue
demarcation of their long border; Russian Duma has not yet ratified
1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement with the US in the Bering Sea

Rwanda
Tutsi, Hutu, Hema, Lendu, and other conflicting ethnic
groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various
government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region,
transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda to gain control over populated areas and
natural resources - government heads pledge to end conflicts, but
localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts; DROC
and Rwanda established a border verification mechanism in 2005 to
address accusations of Rwandan military supporting Congolese rebels
and the Congo providing rebel Rwandan "Interhamwe" forces the means
and bases to attack Rwandan forces; as of 2004, Rwandan refugees
lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Zambia

Saint Helena
none

Saint Kitts and Nevis
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

Saint Lucia
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

Saint Pierre and Miquelon
none

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

Samoa
none

San Marino
none

Sao Tome and Principe
none

Saudi Arabia
despite resistance from nomadic groups, the demarcation
of the Saudi Arabia-Yemen boundary established under the 2000 Jeddah
Treaty is almost complete; Yemen protests Saudi erection of a
concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier in 2004 to stem illegal
cross-border activities in sections of the boundary; Kuwait and
Saudi Arabia continue discussions on a maritime boundary with Iran;
because the treaties have not been made public, the exact alignment
of the boundary with the UAE is still unknown

Senegal
The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau attempt to stem Senegalese
citizens from the Casamance region fleeing separatist violence,
cross border raids, and arms smuggling

Serbia and Montenegro
Kosovo remains unresolved administered by
several thousand peacekeepers from the UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) since 1999, with Kosovar Albanians
overwhelmingly supporting and Serbian officials opposing Kosovo
independence; the international community had agreed to begin a
process to determine final status but contingency of solidifying
multi-ethnic democracy in Kosovo has not been satisfied; ethnic
Albanians in Kosovo refuse demarcation of the boundary with
Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and
Montenegro delimitation agreement; Serbia and Montenegro have
delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia and Herzegovina,
but sections along the Drina River remain in dispute

Seychelles
together with Mauritius, Seychelles claims the Chagos
Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory)

Sierra Leone
domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups,
warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and
Sierra Leone perpetuate insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms
trafficking, ethnic conflicts, and refugees in border areas; UN
Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000
peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone pressures
Guinea to remove its forces from the town of Yenga occupied since
1998

Singapore
disputes persist with Malaysia over deliveries of fresh
water to Singapore, Singapore's extensive land reclamation works,
bridge construction, maritime boundaries, and Pedra Branca
Island/Pulau Batu Putih - parties agree to ICJ arbitration on island
dispute within three years; Indonesia and Singapore pledged in 2005
to finalize their 1973 maritime boundary agreement by defining
unresolved areas north of Batam Island; piracy remains a problem in
the Malacca Strait

Slovakia
Hungary amended its status law extending special social and
cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia, to which
Slovakia had protested; consultations continue between Slovakia and
Hungary over Hungary's completion of its portion of the
Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric dam project along the Danube; as a
member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Slovakia
must implement the strict Schengen border rules

Slovenia
the Croatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement,
which would have ceded most of Piran Bay and maritime access to
Slovenia and several villages to Croatia, remains unratified and in
dispute; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external
border, Slovenia must implement the strict Schengen border rules to
curb illegal migration and commerce through southeastern Europe
while encouraging close cross-border ties with Croatia

Solomon Islands
Australian Defense Force leads the Regional
Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) at the invitation
of the Solomon Islands' Government to maintain civil and political
order and reinforce regional security

Somalia
"Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities to
land-locked Ethiopia and establish commercial ties with regional
states; "Puntland" and "Somaliland" "governments" seek support from
neighboring states in their secessionist aspirations and in
conflicts with each other; Ethiopia has only an administrative line
with the Oromo region of southern Somalia and maintains alliances
with local Somali clans opposed to the unrecognized Somali Interim
Government, which plans eventual relocation from Kenya to Mogadishu;
rival militia and clan fighting in southern Somalia periodically
spills over into Kenya; most of the remaining 23,000 Somali refuges
in Ethiopia are expected to be repatriated in 2005

South Africa
South Africa has placed military along the border to
stem the thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing to find work and escape
political persecution; managed dispute with Namibia over the
location of the boundary in the Orange River

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Argentina, which claims
the islands in its constitution and briefly occupied the islands by
force in 1982, agreed in 1995 to no longer seek settlement by force

Southern Ocean
Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica
entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK
assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in
the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in
extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea
ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or
maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves
(the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal
claims exist in the waters in the sector between 90 degrees west and
150 degrees west

Spain
in 2003, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by
referendum to remain a British colony and against a "total shared
sovereignty" arrangement while demanding participation in talks
between the UK and Spain; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant
Gibraltar greater autonomy; Morocco protests Spain's control over
the coastal enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and the islands of Penon de
Velez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and
surrounding waters; Morocco serves as the primary launching site of
illegal migration into Spain from North Africa

Spratly Islands
all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China,
Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the
Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone
that encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands but has
not 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 "code
of conduct"; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the
Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine
seismic activities in the Spratlys

Sri Lanka
none

Sudan
the effects of Sudan's almost constant ethnic and rebel
militia fighting since the mid-twentieth century have penetrated all
of its border states who provide shelter for fleeing refugees and
cover to disparate domestic and foreign conflicting elements; since
2003, Janjawid armed militia and Sudanese military have driven about
200,000 Darfur region refugees into eastern Chad; large numbers of
Sudanese refugees have also fled to Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, the
Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
southern Sudan provides shelter to Ugandans seeking periodic
protection from soldiers of the Lord's Resistance Army; Sudan
accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; efforts to
demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia have been delayed by
civil and ethnic fighting in Sudan; Kenya's administrative boundary
extends into the southern Sudan, creating the "Ilemi Triangle";
Egypt and Sudan retain claims to administer triangular areas that
extend north and south of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd
Parallel, but have withdrawn their military presence; Egypt is
economically developing the "Hala'ib Triangle" north of the Treaty
Line; periodic violent skirmishes with Sudanese residents over water
and grazing rights persist among related pastoral populations from
the Central African Republic along the border

Suriname
area claimed by French Guiana between Riviere Litani and
Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa); Suriname claims a
triangle of land between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in a
historic dispute over the headwaters of the Courantyne; Guyana seeks
UNCLOS arbitration to resolve the long-standing dispute with
Suriname over the axis of the territorial sea boundary in
potentially oil-rich waters

Svalbard
despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their
maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights
beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone

Swaziland
none

Sweden
none

Switzerland
none

Syria
Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1,000-strong
UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) patrolling a buffer zone
since 1964; Lebanon claims Shaba'a farms in Golan Heights;
international pressure prompts the removal of Syrian troops and
intelligence personel stationed in Lebanon since October 1976; Syria
protests Turkish hydrological projects regulating upper Euphrates
waters; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation settles border
dispute with Jordan

Taiwan
involved in complex dispute with China, Malaysia,
Philippines, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands;
the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China
Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code
of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; Paracel Islands
are occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam; in 2003,
China and Taiwan became more vocal in rejecting both Japan's claims
to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and
Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East
China Sea where all parties engage in hydrocarbon prospecting

Tajikistan
boundary agreements signed in 2002 cede 1,000 sq km of
Pamir Mountain range to China in return for China relinquishing
claims to 28,000 sq km of Tajikistani lands but neither state has
published maps of ceded areas and demarcation has not yet commenced;
talks continue with Uzbekistan to delimit border and remove
minefields; disputes in Isfara Valley delay delimitation with
Kyrgyzstan

Tanzania
disputes with Malawi over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake
Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River remain dormant

Thailand
separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim
southern provinces prompt border closures and controls with Malaysia
to stem terrorist activities; southeast Asian states have enhanced
border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; Laos and
Thailand pledge to complete demarcation of their boundary in 2005;
despite continuing border committee talks, significant differences
remain with Burma over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic
rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities; Cambodia and
Thailand dispute sections of boundary with missing boundary markers;
Cambodia claims Thai encroachments into Cambodian territory and
obstructing access to Preah Vihear temple ruins awarded to Cambodia
by ICJ decision in 1962; ethnic Karens from Burma flee into Thailand
to escape fighting between Karen rebels and Burmese troops resulting
in Thailand sheltering about 118,000 Burmese refugees in 2004;
Karens also protest Thai support for a Burmese hydroelectric dam
construction on the Salween River near the border; environmentalists
in Burma and Thailand remain concerned about China's construction of
hydroelectric dams upstream on the Nujiang/Salween River in Yunnan
Province

Togo
in 2001 Benin claimed Togo moved boundary monuments - joint
commission continues to resurvey the boundary

Tokelau
none

Tonga
none

Trinidad and Tobago
Barbados will assert its claim before UNCLOS
that the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary
with Venezuela extends into its waters; Guyana has also expressed
its intention to challenge this boundary as it may extend into its
waters as well

Tromelin Island
claimed by Mauritius

Tunisia
none

Turkey
complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece
in the Aegean Sea; status of north Cyprus question remains; Syria
and Iraq protest Turkish hydrological projects to control upper
Euphrates waters; Turkey has expressed concern over the status of
Kurds in Iraq; border with Armenia remains closed over
Nagorno-Karabakh

Turkmenistan
cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states;
bilateral talks continue with Azerbaijan on dividing the seabed and
contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian; demarcation of
land boundary with Kazakhstan has started but Caspian seabed
delimitation remains stalled

Turks and Caicos Islands
have received Haitians fleeing economic and
civil disorder

Tuvalu
none

Uganda
Uganda is subject to armed fighting among hostile ethnic
groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government
forces; Ugandan refugees have fled the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)
into the southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
LRA forces have also attacked Kenyan villages across the border

Ukraine
1997 boundary treaty with Belarus remains un-ratified due to
unresolved financial claims, stalling demarcation and reducing
border security; delimitation of land boundary with Russia is
complete but the parties have agreed to defer demarcation; maritime
boundary through the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait remains unresolved
despite a December 2003 framework agreement and on-going
expert-level discussions; Moldova and Ukraine have established joint
customs posts to monitor transit through Moldova's break-away
Transnistria Region which remains under OSCE supervision; Ukraine
and Romania have taken their dispute over Ukrainian-administered
Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary to the ICJ
for adjudication; Romania opposes Ukraine's reopening of a
navigation canal from the Danube border through the Ukraine to the
Black Sea

United Arab Emirates
because the treaties have not been made public,
the exact alignment of the boundary with Saudi Arabia is still
unknown; boundary agreement was signed and ratified with Oman in
2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al
Madhah enclaves, but contents of the agreement and maps showing the
alignment have not been published; UAE engage in direct talks and
solicit Arab League support to resolve disputes over Iran's
occupation of Lesser and Greater Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island

United Kingdom
in 2003, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by
referendum to remain a British colony and against a "total shared
sovereignty" arrangement while demanding participation in talks
between the UK and Spain; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant
Gibraltar greater autonomy; Mauritius and Seychelles claim the
Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former
inhabitants since their eviction in 1965; most Chagosians reside in
Mauritius, and in 2001 were granted UK citizenship but no right to
patriation in the UK; UK rejects sovereignty talks requested by
Argentina, which still claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim
in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory) overlaps Argentine claim
and partially overlaps Chilean claim; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland
dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf
extends beyond 200 nm