Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 188,546 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $800 million-$1 billion (1997 est.); note—based on official budget data that understate actual spending
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 8% (1995 est.)
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; dispute with upstream riparian Turkey over Turkish water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976
Illicit drugs: a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets
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@Taiwan ———
Introduction
Background: In 1895, military defeat forced China to cede Taiwan to Japan, however it reverted to Chinese control after World War II. Following the Communist victory on the mainland in 1949, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a government that over five decades has gradually democratized and incorporated native Taiwanese within its structure. Throughout this period, the island has prospered as one of East Asia's economic tigers. The dominant political issue continues to be the relationship between Taiwan and Mainland China and the question of eventual reunification.