Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$2.5 billion (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
3.1% (FY99)
Transnational Issues Chile
Disputes - international:
Bolivia continues to press Chile and Peru to restore the Atacama
corridor ceded to Chile in 1884; dispute with Peru over the economic
zone delimited by the maritime boundary; Chile demands water rights
to Bolivia's Rio Lauca and Silala Spring; Beagle Channel islands
dispute resolved through Papal mediation in 1984, but armed
incidents persist since 1992 oil discovery; territorial claim in
Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps
Argentine and British claims
Illicit drugs:
a growing transshipment country for cocaine destined for the US and
Europe; economic prosperity and increasing trade have made Chile
more attractive to traffickers seeking to launder drug profits,
especially through the Iquique Free Trade Zone; imported precursors
passed on to Bolivia; domestic cocaine consumption is rising
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003
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@China
Introduction China
Background:
For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the
rest of the world in the arts and sciences. But in the 19th and
early 20th centuries, China was beset by civil unrest, major
famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War
II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established a dictatorship that,
while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over
everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people.
After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping gradually introduced
market-oriented reforms and decentralized economic decision-making.
Output quadrupled by 2000. Political controls remain tight while
economic controls continue to be relaxed.