France

Madagascar claims the French territories of Bassas da India,

Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island; Comoros

claims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; territorial

dispute between Suriname and the French overseas department of

French Guiana; France asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica

(Adelie Land); France and Vanuatu claim Matthew and Hunter Islands,

east of New Caledonia

French Polynesia

none

French Southern and Antarctic Lands

French claim to "Adelie Land" in

Antarctica is not recognized by the US

Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova

Island (Iles Eparses): claimed by Madagascar; the vegetated drying

cays of Banc du Geyser, which were claimed by Madagascar in 1976,

also fall within the EEZ claims of the Comoros and France (Glorioso

Islands)

Tromelin Island (Iles Eparses): claimed by Mauritius

Gabon

UN urges Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve the

sovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and lesser

islands and to establish a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-rich

Corisco Bay

Gambia, The

attempts to stem refugees, cross-border raids, arms

smuggling, and other illegal activities by separatists from southern

Senegal's Casamance region, as well as from conflicts in other west

African states

Gaza Strip

West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with

current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement

- permanent status to be determined through further negotiation;

Israel removed settlers and military personnel from the Gaza Strip

in August 2005

Georgia

Russia and Georgia agree on delimiting 80% of their common

border, leaving certain small, strategic segments and the maritime

boundary unresolved; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such as

the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Argun Gorge in

Abkhazia; UN Observer Mission in Georgia has maintained a

peacekeeping force in Georgia since 1993; Meshkheti Turks scattered

throughout the former Soviet Union seek to return to Georgia;

boundary with Armenia remains undemarcated; ethnic Armenian groups

in Javakheti region of Georgia seek greater autonomy from the

Georgian government; Azerbaijan and Georgia continue to discuss the

alignment of their boundary at certain crossing areas

Germany

none

Ghana

Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked

in the cocoa plantations and escaped fighting in Cote d'Ivoire

Gibraltar

in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by

referendum to reject any "shared sovereignty" arrangement; the

government of Gibraltar insists on equal participation in talks

between the UK and Spain; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant

Gibraltar even greater autonomy

Greece

Greece and Turkey continue discussions to resolve their

complex maritime, air, territorial, and boundary disputes in the

Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Turkey; Greece rejects the use of

the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia; the mass migration of

unemployed Albanians still remains a problem for developed

countries, chiefly Greece and Italy

Greenland

managed dispute between Canada and Denmark over Hans

Island in the Kennedy Channel between Canada's Ellesmere Island and

Greenland

Grenada

none

Guam

none

Guatemala

annual ministerial meetings under the OAS-initiated

Agreement on the Framework for Negotiations and Confidence Building

Measures continue to address Guatemalan land and maritime claims in

Belize and the Caribbean Sea; the Line of Adjacency created under

the 2002 Differendum serves in lieu of the contiguous international

boundary to control squatting in the sparsely inhabited rain forests

of Belize's border region; Mexico must deal with thousands of

impoverished Guatemalans and other Central Americans who cross the

porous border looking for work in Mexico and the United States

Guernsey

none

Guinea

conflicts among rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in

neighboring states have spilled over into Guinea resulting in

domestic instability; Sierra Leone considers Guinea's definition of

the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the

Makona and Moa rivers excessive and protests Guinea's continued

occupation of these lands, including the hamlet of Yenga, occupied

since 1998

Guinea-Bissau

in 2006, political instability within Senegal's

Casamance region resulted in thousands of Senegalese refugees,

cross-border raids, and arms smuggling into Guinea-Bissau

Guyana

all of the area west of the Essequibo River is claimed by

Venezuela preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana

has expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims

before UNCLOS that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with

Venezuela extends into their waters; Suriname claims a triangle of

land between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in a historic dispute

over the headwaters of the Courantyne; Guyana seeks arbitration

under provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

to resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over the axis of

the territorial sea boundary in potentially oil-rich waters

Haiti

since 2004, about 8,000 peacekeepers from the UN Stabilization

Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) maintain civil order in Haiti; despite

efforts to control illegal migration, Haitians cross into the

Dominican Republic and sail to neighboring countries; Haiti claims

US-administered Navassa Island

Heard Island and McDonald Islands

none

Holy See (Vatican City)

none

Honduras

International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on the

delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El

Salvador-Honduras border in 1992 with final settlement by the

parties in 2006 after an Organization of American States (OAS)

survey and a further ICJ ruling in 2003; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised

a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of

Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El

Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned in the

ICJ ruling, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca; Honduras claims the

Belizean-administered Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize in its

constitution, but agreed to a joint ecological park around the cays

should Guatemala consent to a maritime corridor in the Caribbean

under the OAS-sponsored 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum; memorials

and countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999

and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ over

the maritime boundary and territorial claims in the western

Caribbean Sea - final public hearings are scheduled for 2007

Hong Kong

none

Hungary

bilateral government, legal, technical and economic working

group negotiations continue in 2006 with Slovakia over Hungary's

failure to complete its portion of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros

hydroelectric dam project along the Danube; as a member state that

forms part of the EU's external border, Hungary has implemented the

strict Schengen border rules

Iceland

Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that

the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm

India

since China and India launched a security and foreign policy

dialogue in 2005, consolidated discussions related to the dispute

over most of their rugged, militarized boundary, regional nuclear

proliferation, Indian claims that China transferred missiles to

Pakistan, and other matters continue; various talks and

confidence-building measures have cautiously begun to defuse

tensions over Kashmir, particularly since the October 2005

earthquake in the region; Kashmir nevertheless remains the site of

the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with

portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin),

India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern

Areas); India and Pakistan have maintained the 2004 cease fire in

Kashmir and initiated discussions on defusing the armed stand-off in

the Siachen glacier region; Pakistan protests India's fencing the

highly militarized Line of Control and construction of the Baglihar

Dam on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir, which is part of the

larger dispute on water sharing of the Indus River and its

tributaries; UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan

(UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949;

India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to

China in 1964; to defuse tensions and prepare for discussions on a

maritime boundary, India and Pakistan seek technical resolution of

the disputed boundary in Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann

of Kutch in the Arabian Sea; Pakistani maps continue to show its

Junagadh claim in Indian Gujarat State; discussions with Bangladesh

remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, to

exchange territory for 51 Bangladeshi exclaves in India and 111

Indian exclaves in Bangladesh, to allocate divided villages, and to

stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of

terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh protests India's

attempts to fence off high-traffic sections of the border; India

seeks cooperation from Bhutan and Burma to keep Indian Nagaland and

Assam separatists from hiding in remote areas along the borders;

Joint Border Committee with Nepal continues to examine contested

boundary sections, including the 400 square kilometer dispute over

the source of the Kalapani River; India maintains a strict border

regime to keep out Maoist insurgents and control illegal

cross-border activities from Nepal

Indian Ocean

some maritime disputes (see littoral states)

Indonesia

Indonesia has a stated foreign policy objective of

establishing stable fixed land and maritime boundaries with all of

its neighbors; some sections of border along Timor-Leste's Oecussi

exclave and maritime boundaries with Timor-Leste remain unresolved;

many refugees from Timor-Leste who left in 2003 still reside in

Indonesia and refuse repatriation; a 1997 treaty between Indonesia

and Australia settled some parts of their maritime boundary but

outstanding issues remain; ICJ's award of Sipadan and Ligitan

islands to Malaysia in 2002 left the sovereignty of Unarang rock and

the maritime boundary in the Ambalat oil block in the Celebes Sea in

dispute; the ICJ decision has prompted Indonesia to assert claims to

and to establish a presence on its smaller outer islands; Indonesia

and Singapore continue to work on finalization of their 1973

maritime boundary agreement by defining unresolved areas north of

Indonesia's Batam Island; Indonesian secessionists, squatters, and

illegal migrants create repatriation problems for Papua New Guinea;

maritime delimitation talks continue with Palau; Indonesian groups

challenge Australia's claim to Ashmore Reef; Australia has closed

parts of the Ashmore and Cartier Reserve to Indonesian traditional

fishing and placed restrictions on certain catches

Iran

Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed tributaries

to the Helmand River in periods of drought; Iraq's lack of a

maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the

mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Iran and UAE dispute

Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island, which are occupied by Iran; Iran

stands alone among littoral states in insisting upon a division of

the Caspian Sea into five equal sectors

Iraq

coalition forces assist Iraqis in monitoring internal and

cross-border security; approximately two million Iraqis have fled

the conflict in Iraq, with the majority taking refuge in Syria and

Jordan, and lesser numbers to Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, and Turkey;

Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction

disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf;

Turkey has expressed concern over the autonomous status of Kurds in

Iraq

Ireland

Ireland, Iceland, and the UK dispute Denmark's claim that

the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm

Isle of Man

none

Israel

West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current

status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement -

permanent status to be determined through further negotiation;

Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier

along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel

withdrew its settlers and military from the Gaza Strip and from four

settlements in the West Bank in August 2005; Golan Heights is

Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan

Heights); since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce

Supervision Organization (UNTSO) headquartered in Jerusalem monitor

ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated

incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the

region

Italy

Italy's long coastline and developed economy entices tens of

thousands of illegal immigrants from southeastern Europe and

northern Africa

Jamaica

none

Jan Mayen

none

Japan

the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu,

Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as

the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kuril

Islands," occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by

Russia and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to

signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities;

Japan and South Korea claim Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do)

occupied by South Korea since 1954; China and Taiwan dispute both

Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto

(Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic

zone in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon

prospecting

Jersey

none

Jordan

approximately two million Iraqis have fled the conflict in

Iraq, with the majority taking refuge in Syria and Jordan; 2004

Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending demarcation

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan has yet to ratify the 2001 boundary

delimitation with Kazakhstan; field demarcation of the boundaries

with Turkmenistan commenced in 2005, and with Uzbekistan in 2004;

demarcation is scheduled to get underway with Russia in 2007;

demarcation with China was completed in 2002; creation of a seabed

boundary with Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea remains under

discussion; equidistant seabed treaties have been ratified with

Azerbaijan and Russia in the Caspian Sea, but no resolution has been

made on dividing the water column among any of the littoral states

Kenya

Kenya served as an important mediator in brokering Sudan's

north-south separation in February 2005; Kenya provides shelter to

almost a quarter of a million refugees, including Ugandans who flee

across the border periodically to seek protection from Lord's

Resistance Army (LRA) rebels; Kenya works hard to prevent the clan

and militia fighting in Somalia from spreading across the border,

which has long been open to nomadic pastoralists; the boundary that

separates Kenya's and Sudan's sovereignty is unclear in the "Ilemi

Triangle," which Kenya has administered since colonial times

Kiribati

none

Korea, North

risking arrest, imprisonment, and deportation, tens of

thousands of North Koreans cross into China to escape famine,

economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea and China

dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers;

Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone

has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents

in the Yellow Sea with South Korea which claims the Northern

Limiting Line as a maritime boundary; North Korea supports South

Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks

(Tok-do/Take-shima)

Korea, South

Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide

Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953;

periodic incidents with North Korea in the Yellow Sea over the

Northern Limit Line, which South Korea claims as a maritime

boundary; South Korea and Japan claim Liancourt Rocks

(Tok-do/Take-shima), occupied by South Korea since 1954

Kosovo

Serbia with several other states protest the US and other

states' recognition of Kosovo's declaring itself as a sovereign and

independent state in February 2008; ethnic Serbian municipalities

along Kosovo's northern border challenge final status of

Kosovo-Serbia boundary; several thousand NATO-led KFOR peacekeepers

under UNMIK authority continue to keep the peace within Kosovo

between the ethnic Albanian majority and the Serb minority in

Kosovo; Kosovo and Macedonia completed demarcation of their boundary

in September 2008

Kuwait

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime

boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the

Persian Gulf

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan has yet to ratify the 2001 boundary

delimitation with Kazakhstan; disputes in Isfara Valley delay

completion of delimitation with Tajikistan; delimitation of 130 km

of border with Uzbekistan is hampered by serious disputes around

enclaves and other areas

Laos

Southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to

check the spread of avian flu; talks continue on completion of

demarcation with Thailand but disputes remain over islands in the

Mekong River; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's

construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels

Latvia

Russia demands better Latvian treatment of ethnic Russians in

Latvia; as of January 2007, ground demarcation of the boundary with

Belarus was complete and mapped with final ratification

documentation in preparation; the Latvian parliament has not

ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily

due to concerns over oil exploration rights; as a member state that

forms part of the EU's external border, Latvia has implemented the

strict Schengen border rules with Russia

Lebanon

lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the

boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with

several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shab'a

Farms area in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; the roughly

2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been in place

since 1978

Lesotho

none

Liberia

although civil unrest continues to abate with the assistance

of 18,000 UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) peacekeepers, as of January

2007, Liberian refugees still remain in Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire,

Sierra Leone, and Ghana; Liberia, in turn, shelters refugees fleeing

turmoil in Cote d'Ivoire; despite the presence of over 9,000 UN

forces (UNOCI) in Cote d'Ivoire since 2004, ethnic conflict

continues to spread into neighboring states who can no longer send

their migrant workers to Ivorian cocoa plantations; UN sanctions ban

Liberia from exporting diamonds and timber

Libya

Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern

Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in the Tommo region of Niger in a

currently dormant dispute; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou

region reside in southern Libya

Liechtenstein

none

Lithuania

Lithuania and Russia committed to demarcating their

boundary in 2006 in accordance with the land and maritime treaty

ratified by Russia in May 2003 and by Lithuania in 1999; Lithuania

operates a simplified transit regime for Russian nationals traveling

from the Kaliningrad coastal exclave into Russia, while still

conforming, as a EU member state having an external border with a

non-EU member, to strict Schengen border rules; the Latvian

parliament has not ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with

Lithuania, primarily due to concerns over potential hydrocarbons; as

of January 2007, ground demarcation of the boundary with Belarus was

complete and mapped with final ratification documents in preparation

Luxembourg

none

Macau

none

Macedonia

Kosovo and Macedonia completed demarcation of their

boundary in September 2008; Greece continues to reject the use of

the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia

Madagascar

claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands,

and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France); the vegetated

drying cays of Banc du Geyser, which were claimed by Madagascar in

1976, also fall within the EEZ claims of the Comoros and France

(Glorioso Islands, part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands)

Malawi

disputes with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake

Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River remain dormant

Malaysia

Malaysia is involved in a complex dispute with Brunei,

China, Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam over claims to part or all

of the Spratly Islands; while the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct

of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions over the

Spratly Islands, it is not the legally binding "code of conduct"

sought by some parties; Malaysia was not party to the March 2005

joint accord among the national oil companies of China, the

Philippines, and Vietnam on conducting marine seismic activities in

the Spratly Islands; disputes continue over deliveries of fresh

water to Singapore, Singapore's land reclamation, bridge

construction, and maritime boundaries in the Johor and Singapore

Straits; in 2008, ICJ awards sovereignty of Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu

Puteh/Horsburgh Island) to Singapore, and Middle Rocks to Malaysia,

but does not rule on maritime regimes, boundaries, or disposition of

South Ledge; ICJ awarded Ligitan and Sipadan islands, also claimed

by Indonesia and Philippines, to Malaysia but left maritime boundary

and sovereignty of Unarang rock in the hydrocarbon-rich Celebes Sea

in dispute; separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim

southern provinces prompts measures to close and monitor border with

Malaysia to stem terrorist activities; Philippines retains a dormant

claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo; Brunei and

Malaysia agreed in September 2008 to resolve their offshore and

deepwater seabed dispute, resume hydrocarbon exploration, and

renounce any territorial claims along their land boundary; piracy

remains a problem in the Malacca Strait

Maldives

none

Mali

none

Malta

none

Marshall Islands

claims US territory of Wake Island

Mauritania

Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara remain dormant

Mauritius

Mauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered

British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants, who

reside chiefly in Mauritius; claims French-administered Tromelin

Island

Mayotte

claimed by Comoros

Mexico

abundant rainfall in recent years along much of the Mexico-US

border region has ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing

arrangements; the US has intensified security measures to monitor

and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities

across its border with Mexico; Mexico must deal with thousands of

impoverished Guatemalans and other Central Americans who cross the

porous border looking for work in Mexico and the United States

Micronesia, Federated States of

none

Moldova

Moldova and Ukraine operate joint customs posts to monitor

the transit of people and commodities through Moldova's break-away

Transnistria region, which remains under OSCE supervision

Monaco

none

Mongolia

none

Montenegro

none

Montserrat

none

Morocco

claims and administers Western Sahara whose sovereignty

remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in

effect since September 1991, but attempts to hold a referendum have

failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals;

Morocco protests Spain's control over the coastal enclaves of Ceuta,

Melilla, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, the islands of Penon de

Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and surrounding waters; both

countries claim Isla Perejil (Leila Island); discussions have not

progressed on a comprehensive maritime delimitation, setting limits

on resource exploration and refugee interdiction, since Morocco's

2002 rejection of Spain's unilateral designation of a median line

from the Canary Islands; Morocco serves as one of the primary

launching areas of illegal migration into Spain from North Africa

Mozambique

none