United Kingdom
in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by
referendum to reject any "shared sovereignty" arrangement between
the UK and Spain; the Government of Gibraltar insists on equal
participation in talks between the two countries; Spain disapproves
of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; Mauritius and
Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean
Territory), and its former inhabitants since their eviction in 1965;
most Chagossians reside in Mauritius, and in 2001 were granted UK
citizenship, where some have since resettled; in May 2006, the High
Court of London reversed the UK Government's 2004 orders of council
that banned habitation on the islands; UK rejects sovereignty talks
requested by Argentina, which still claims the Falkland Islands
(Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands;
territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory)
overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean claim;
Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe
Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm
United States
the U.S. has intensified domestic security measures
and is collaborating closely with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico,
to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and
commodities across the international borders; abundant rainfall in
recent years along much of the Mexico-US border region has
ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing arrangements; 1990
Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian
Duma ratification; managed maritime boundary disputes with Canada at
Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the
disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; The Bahamas and US have
not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base at
Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US
abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims
US-administered Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in
Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not
recognize the claims of any other states; Marshall Islands claims
Wake Island; Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island among
the islands listed in its 2006 draft constitution
United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
none
Uruguay
in Jan 2007, ICJ provisionally ruled Uruguay may begin
construction of two paper mills on the Uruguay River, which forms
the border with Argentina, while the court examines further whether
Argentina has the legal right to stop such construction with
potential environmental implications to both countries; uncontested
dispute with Brazil over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and
Invernada streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina
Uzbekistan
prolonged drought and cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan
and Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya
river states; field demarcation of the boundaries with Kazakhstan
commenced in 2004; border delimitation of 130 km of border with
Kyrgyzstan is hampered by serious disputes around enclaves and other
areas
Vanuatu
Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by
Vanuatu and France
Venezuela
claims all of the area west of the Essequibo River in
Guyana, preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana has
expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims before
the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that
Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into
their waters; dispute with Colombia over maritime boundary and
Venezuelan-administered Los Monjes islands near the Gulf of
Venezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics and paramilitary
activities penetrate Venezuela's shared border region; in 2006, an
estimated 139,000 Colombians sought protection in 150 communities
along the border in Venezuela; US, France, and the Netherlands
recognize Venezuela's granting full effect to Aves Island, thereby
claiming a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a large
portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea; Dominica, Saint Kitts and
Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines protest
Venezuela's full effect claim
Vietnam
southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to
check the spread of avian flu; Cambodia and Laos protest Vietnamese
squatters and armed encroachments along border; an estimated 300,000
Vietnamese refugees reside in China; establishment of a maritime
boundary with Cambodia is hampered by unresolved dispute over the
sovereignty of offshore islands; demarcation of the China-Vietnam
boundary proceeds slowly and although the maritime boundary
delimitation and fisheries agreements were ratified in June 2004,
implementation has been delayed; China occupies the Paracel Islands
also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; involved in complex dispute with
China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei over the
Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in
the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally
binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants;
Vietnam continues to expand construction of facilities in the
Spratly Islands; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China,
the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine
seismic activities in the Spratly Islands
Virgin Islands
none
Wake Island
claimed by Marshall Islands