paved: 18,914 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
10,940 km (2003)

Pipelines:
oil 264 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Kieta, Lae, Madang, Port Moresby, Rabaul

Merchant marine:
total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 47,586 GRT/60,934 DWT
foreign-owned: Singapore 2, United Kingdom 6
registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.)
by type: bulk 1, cargo 12, chemical tanker 1, combination ore/oil 2,
container 1, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 2

Airports:
559 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 21
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
914 to 1,523 m: 4

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 550
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 62
under 914 m: 478 (2004 est.)

Heliports:
2 (2003 est.)

Military Papua New Guinea

Military branches:
Papua New Guinea Defense Force: Ground Force, Maritime Operations
Element, and Air Operations Element

Military manpower - military age and obligation:
18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,403,467 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 775,064 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$16.9 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.4% (FY02)

Transnational Issues Papua New Guinea

Disputes - international:
seeks assistance from Australia to control illegal cross-border
activities from primarily Indonesia, including smuggling, drug
trafficking, and Indonesian squatters and secessionists

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

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@Paracel Islands

Introduction Paracel Islands

Background:
The Paracel Islands are surrounded by productive fishing grounds
and by potential oil and gas reserves. In 1932, French Indochina
annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Pattle Island;
maintenance was continued by its successor, Vietnam. China has
occupied the Paracel Islands since 1974, when its troops seized a
South Vietnamese garrison occupying the western islands. The islands
are claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.

Geography Paracel Islands

Location:
Southeastern Asia, group of small islands and reefs in the South
China Sea, about one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the
northern Philippines

Geograph