erious maritime hazard

Environment - current issues:

NA

Geography - note:

strategically located near several primary shipping lanes in the
central South China Sea; includes numerous small islands, atolls,
shoals, and coral reefs

People
Spratly Islands

Population:

no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are scattered garrisons occupied by personnel of several
claimant states

Government
Spratly Islands

Country name:

conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Spratly Islands

Economy
Spratly Islands

Economy - overview:

Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing. The proximity to
nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins suggests the
potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is largely
unexplored. There are no reliable estimates of potential reserves.
Commercial exploitation has yet to be developed.

Transportation
Spratly Islands

Airports:

3 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)

Heliports:

3 (2007)

Ports and terminals:

none; offshore anchorage only

Military
Spratly Islands

Military - note:

Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs of
which about 45 are claimed and occupied by China, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam

Transnational Issues
Spratly Islands

Disputes - international:

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 Spratly Islands

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

======================================================================

@Sri Lanka

Introduction
Sri Lanka

Background:

The first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century
B.C. probably from northern India. Buddhism was introd