Transnational Issues East Timor
Disputes - international:
UN Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) has maintained about
1,000 peacekeepers in East Timor since 2002; East Timor-Indonesia
Boundary Committee continues to meet, survey, and delimit the land
boundary, but several sections of the boundary especially around the
Oekussi enclave remain unresolved; Indonesia and East Timor contest
the sovereignty of the uninhabited coral island of Pulau Batek/Fatu
Sinai, which prevents delimitation of the northern maritime
boundaries; many refugees who left East Timor in 2003 still reside
in Indonesia and refuse repatriation; Australia and East Timor
agreed in 2005 to defer the disputed portion of the boundary for 50
years and to split hydrocarbon revenues evenly outside the Joint
Petroleum Development Area covered by the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty;
dispute with Australia has hampered creation of a southern maritime
boundary with Indonesia
Illicit drugs:
NA
This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006
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@Ecuador
Introduction Ecuador
Background:
What is now Ecuador formed part of the northern Inca Empire until
the Spanish conquest in 1533. Quito became a seat of Spanish
colonial government in 1563 and part of the Viceroyalty of New
Granada in 1717. The territories of the Viceroyalty - New Granada
(Colombia), Venezuela, and Quito - gained their independence by 1819
and formed a federation known as Gran Colombia. When Quito withdrew
in 1830, the traditional name was changed in favor of the "Republic
of the Equator." Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in
a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru
that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. Although Ecuador marked 25
years of civilian governance in 2004, the period has been marred by
political instability. Seven presidents have governed Ecuador since
1996.
Geography Ecuador
Location:
Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator,
between Colombia and Peru