th the UK.
Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain
good relations with all Middle Eastern countries.

Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's five
oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern
Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways
include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and
Torres Straits. The decision by the International Hydrographic
Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the
Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60
degrees south.

Pakistan
The separation in 1947 of British India into the Muslim
state of Pakistan (with two sections West and East) and largely
Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved, and India and
Pakistan have fought two wars - in 1947-48 and 1965 - over the
disputed Kashmir territory. A third war between these countries in
1971 - in which India capitalized on Islamabad's marginalization of
Bengalis in Pakistani politics - resulted in East Pakistan becoming
the separate nation of Bangladesh. In response to Indian nuclear
weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in 1998. The
dispute over the state of Kashmir is ongoing, but recent discussions
and confidence-building measures may be a start toward lessened
tensions.

Palau
After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the
Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the
Caroline Islands opted for independence in 1978 rather than join the
Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with
the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered
into force the following year, when the islands gained independence.

Palmyra Atoll
The Kingdom of Hawaii claimed the atoll in 1862, and
the US included it among the Hawaiian Islands when it annexed the
archipelago in 1898. The Hawaii Statehood Act of 1959 did not
include Palmyra Atoll, which is now privately owned by the Nature
Conservancy. This organization is managing the atoll as a nature
preserve. The lagoons and surrounding waters within the 12 nautical
mile US territorial seas were transferred to the US Fish and
Wildlife Service and were designated a National Wildlife Refuge in
January 2001.

Panama
With US backing, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903 and
promptly signed a treaty with t