Botswana
Botswana still struggles to seal its border from thousands
of Zimbabweans who flee economic collapse and political persecution;
Namibia has long supported, and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections
to, plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the
Zambezi River at Kazungula crossing, thereby de facto recognizing
the short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary
Bouvet Island
none
Brazil
unruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay
borders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and illegal
narcotics trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations;
uncontested boundary dispute with Uruguay over Isla Brasilera at the
confluence of the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada rivers, that form a
tripoint with Argentina; the Itaipú Dam reservoir covers over a once
contested section of Brazil-Paraguay boundary west of Guaira Falls
on the Rio Parana; an accord placed the long-disputed Isla
Suárez/Ilha de Guajará-Mirim, a fluvial island on the Río Mamoré,
under Bolivian administration in 1958, but sovereignty remains in
dispute
British Indian Ocean Territory
Mauritius claims the Chagos
Archipelago including Diego Garcia; in 2001, the former inhabitants
of the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1967 and 1973 and now residing
chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to
repatriation; in May 2007, the UK Court of Appeals upheld the May
2006 High Court of London judgment reversing the UK government's
2004 Orders of Council that banned habitation on the islands; a
small group of Chagossians visited Diego Garcia in April 2006;
repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of
Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest viable island in
the chain
British Virgin Islands
none
Brunei
Brunei and Malaysia agreed in September 2008 to resolve their
offshore and deepwater seabed dispute, resume hydrocarbon
exploration, and renounce any territorial claims on land; Brunei
established an exclusive economic fishing zone encompassing Louisa
Reef in the southern Spratly Islands in 1984, but makes no public
territorial claim to the offshore reefs; the 2002 "Declaration on
the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions in
the Spratly Islands but falls short of a legally binding "code of
conduct" desired by several of the disputants
Bulgaria
none
Burkina Faso
in September 2007, Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) intervened to attempt to resolve the dispute over
two villages along the Benin-Burkina Faso border that remain from
2005 ICJ decision; in recent years citizens and rogue security
forces rob and harass local populations on both sides of the
poorly-defined Burkina Faso-Niger border; despite the presence of
over 9,000 UN forces (UNOCI) in Cote d'Ivoire since 2004, ethnic
conflict continues to spread into neighboring states who can no
longer send their migrant workers to work in Ivorian cocoa
plantations
Burma
over half of Burma's population consists of diverse ethnic
groups who have substantial numbers of kin in neighboring countries;
Thailand must deal with Karen and other ethnic refugees, asylum
seekers, and rebels, as well as illegal cross-border activities from
Burma; Thailand is studying the feasibility of jointly constructing
the Hatgyi Dam on the Salween River near the border with Burma;
citing environmental, cultural, and social concerns, China is
reconsidering construction of 13 dams on the Salween River but
energy-starved Burma with backing from Thailand remains intent on
building five hydro-electric dams downstream, despite identical
regional and international protests; India seeks cooperation from
Burma to keep Indian Nagaland separatists, such as the United
Liberation Front of Assam, from hiding in remote Burmese Uplands;
after 21 years, Bangladesh resumes talks with Burma on delimiting a
maritime boundary in January 2008
Burundi
Burundi and Rwanda dispute sections of border on the
Akanyaru/Kanyaru and the Kagera/Nyabarongo rivers, which have
changed course since the 1960s, when the boundary was delimited;
cross-border conflicts among Tutsi, Hutu, other ethnic groups,
associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government
forces persist in the Great Lakes region