Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.2% (2003)
Transnational Issues Spain
Disputes - international:
since Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum in
2003 against a "total shared sovereignty" arrangement, talks between
the UK and Spain over the fate of the 300-year old UK colony have
stalled; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater
autonomy; Morocco protests Spain's control over the coastal enclaves
of Ceuta, Melilla, and the islands of Penon de Velez de la Gomera,
Penon de Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and surrounding waters;
Morocco serves as the primary launching area of illegal migration
into Spain from North Africa; Morocco rejected Spain's unilateral
designation of a median line from the Canary Islands in 2002 to set
limits to undersea resource exploration and refugee interdiction,
but agreed in 2003 to discuss a comprehensive maritime delimitation;
some Portuguese groups assert dormant claims to territories ceded to
Spain around the town of Olivenza
Illicit drugs:
key European gateway country and consumer for Latin American
cocaine and North African hashish entering the European market;
destination and minor transshipment point for Southwest Asian
heroin; money laundering site for European earnings of Colombian
narcotics trafficking organizations
This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005
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@Spratly Islands
Introduction Spratly Islands
Background:
The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or
reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially
by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by
China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia
and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively
small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Brunei has established a fishing
zone that overlaps a southern reef, but has not made any formal
claim.
Geography Spratly Islands