Keflavik;
however, all US military forces in Iceland were withdrawn as of
October 2006; although wartime defense of Iceland remains a NATO
commitment, in April 2007, Iceland and Norway signed a bilateral
agreement providing for Norwegian aerial surveillance and defense of
Icelandic airspace (2008)
Isle of Man
defense is the responsibility of the UK
Jan Mayen
defense is the responsibility of Norway
Jersey
defense is the responsibility of the UK
Kiribati
Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance
is provided by Australia and NZ
Laos
serving one of the world's least developed countries, the Lao
People's Armed Forces (LPAF) is small, poorly funded, and
ineffectively resourced; its mission focus is border and internal
security, primarily in countering ethnic Hmong insurgent groups;
together with the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and the
government, the Lao People's Army (LPA) is the third pillar of state
machinery, and as such is expected to suppress political and civil
unrest and similar national emergencies, but the LPA also has
upgraded skills to respond to avian influenza outbreaks; there is no
perceived external threat to the state and the LPA maintains strong
ties with the neighboring Vietnamese military (2008)
Lesotho
Lesotho's declared policy is maintenance of its independent
sovereignty and preservation of internal security; in practice,
external security is guaranteed by South Africa; restructuring of
the Lesotho Defense Force (LDF) and Ministry of Defense and Public
Service over the past five years has focused on subordinating the
defense apparatus to civilian control and restoring the LDF's
cohesion; the restructuring has considerably improved capabilities
and professionalism, but the LDF is disproportionately large for a
small, poor country; the government has outlined a reduction to a
planned 1,500-man strength, but these plans have met with vociferous
resistance from the political opposition and from inside the LDF
(2008)
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein has no military forces, but is
interested in European security policy and is an active member of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Macau
defense is the responsibility of China
Maldives
the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF), with its small
size and with little serviceable equipment, is inadequate to prevent
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