Military expenditures - dollar figure: $2.5 billion (1997)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.6% (1997)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; State of Sabah claimed by the Philippines; Brunei may wish to purchase the Malaysian salient that divides Brunei into two parts; two islands in dispute with Singapore; two islands in dispute with Indonesia
Illicit drugs: transit point for Golden Triangle heroin going to Western markets despite severe penalties for drug trafficking ______________________________________________________________________
MALDIVES
@Maldives:Geography
Location: Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India
Geographic coordinates: 3 15 N, 73 00 E
Map references: Asia