generally adequate, modern facilities; 15,310,000
telephones; stations--196 AM, 404 (134 relays) FM, 143 (1,297 relays) TV;
17 coaxial submarine cables; communications satellite earth stations operating
in INTELSAT (5 Atlantic Ocean, 1 Indian Ocean), MARISAT, and ENTELSAT systems

- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 10,032,649; 8,141,384 fit for military
service; 338,582 reach military age (20) annually

Defense expenditures: 2.1% of GDP, or $8.4 billion (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Spratly Islands
- Geography
Total area: less than 5 km2; land area: less than 5 km2; includes
100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered over the
South China Sea

Comparative area: undetermined

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 926 km

Maritime claims: undetermined

Disputes: China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam
claim all or part of the Spratly Islands

Climate: tropical

Terrain: flat

Natural resources: fish, guano; oil and natural gas potential

Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 100% other

Environment: subject to typhoons; includes numerous small islands, atolls,
shoals, and coral reefs

Note: strategically located near several primary shipping
lanes in the central South China Sea; serious navigational hazard

- People
Population: no permanent inhabitants; garrisons

- Government
Long-form name: none

- Economy
Overview: Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing and
phosphate mining. Geological surveys carried out several years ago
suggest that substantial reserves of oil and natural gas may lie beneath
the islands; commercial exploitation has yet to be developed.

Industries: some guano mining

- Communications
Airports: 3 total, 2 usable; none with runways over 2,439 m;
1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

- Defense Forces
Note: approximately 50 small islands or reefs are occupied
by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Sri Lanka
- Geography
Total area: 65,610 km2; land area: 64,740 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 1,340 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;

Extende