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
Transnational Issues Spratly Islands
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 that
encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands but has not
publicly claimed the island; claimants in November 2002 signed the
"Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea", a
mechanism to ease tension but which fell short of a legally binding
"code of conduct"
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003
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@Sri Lanka
Introduction Sri Lanka
Background:
The Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C.,
probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced beginning in
about the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed
at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa
1000 A.D.) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th
century, a south Indian dynasty seized power in the north and
established a Tamil kingdom. Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th
century and by the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded
to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was
united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent
in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka 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. After two decades of fighting, the government
and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam began a ceasefire in December
2001, with Norway brokering peace negotiations.
Geography Sri Lanka
Location:
Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India