s,
atolls, shoals, and coral reefs

@Spratly Islands:People

Population: no indigenous inhabitants
note: there are scattered garrisons occupied by personnel of several
claimant states (July 2000 est.)

@Spratly Islands:Government

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Spratly Islands

Data code: PG

@Spratly Islands:Economy

Economy - overview: Economic activity is limited to commercial
fishing. The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary
basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region
is largely unexplored, and there are no reliable estimates of
potential reserves; commercial exploitation has yet to be developed.

@Spratly Islands:Transportation

Ports and harbors: none

Airports: 4 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (1999 est.)

@Spratly Islands:Military

Military - note: Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small
islands or reefs, of which about 45 are claimed and occupied by China,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam

@Spratly Islands:Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by
China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and
the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing
zone, which encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands,
but has not publicly claimed the island

______________________________________________________________________

SRI LANKA

@Sri Lanka:Introduction

Background: Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and the
Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in
1802. As Ceylon it became independent in 1948; its name was changed in
1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists
erupted in violence in the mid-1980s. Tens of thousands have died in
an ethnic war that continues to fester.

@Sri Lanka:Geography

Location: Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India

Geographic coordinates: 7 00 N, 81 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km
water: 870 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,340 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margi