does not recognize Pakistan's
ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; about 90,000 ethnic
Tibetan exiles reside primarily in India as well as Nepal and
Bhutan; China asserts sovereignty over the Spratly Islands together
with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei;
the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China
Sea" has eased tensions in the Spratlys but is not the legally
binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties; in March 2005, the
national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed
a joint accord on marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands;
China occupies some of the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam
and Taiwan; China and Taiwan have become more vocal in rejecting
both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of Senkaku-shoto
(Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic
zone in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon
prospecting; certain islands in the Yalu and Tumen rivers are in an
uncontested dispute with North Korea and a section of boundary
around Mount Paektu is considered indefinite; China seeks to stem
illegal migration of tens of thousands of North Koreans; in 2004,
China and Russia divided up the islands in the Amur, Ussuri, and
Argun Rivers, ending a century-old border dispute; demarcation of
the China-Vietnam boundary proceeds slowly and although the maritime
boundary delimitation and fisheries agreements were ratified in June
2004, implementation has been delayed; environmentalists in Burma
and Thailand remain concerned about China's construction of
hydroelectric dams upstream on the Nujiang/Salween River in Yunnan
Province

Christmas Island
none

Clipperton Island
none

Cocos (Keeling) Islands
none

Colombia
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;
dispute with Venezuela over maritime boundary and Los Monjes Islands
near the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics,
guerrilla, and paramilitary activities penetrate all of its
neighbors' borders and have created a serious refugee crisis with
over 300,000 persons having fled the country, mostly into
neighboring states

Comoros
clai