Indian claims that China transferred missiles to Pakistan, and othermatters; recent talks and confidence-building measures have begun to
defuse tensions over Kashmir, site of the world's largest and most
militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto
administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and
Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); in 2004, India and
Pakistan instituted a cease fire in the Kashmir and in 2005,
restored bus service across the highly militarized Line of Control;
Pakistan has taken its dispute on the impact and benefits of India's
building the Baglihar dam on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir
to the World Bank for arbitration; UN Military Observer Group in
India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group of
peacekeepers since 1949; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding
historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; disputes persist with
Pakistan over Indus River water sharing; to defuse tensions and
prepare for discussions on a maritime boundary, in 2004, India and
Pakistan resurveyed a portion of the disputed boundary in Sir Creek
estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch; Pakistani maps continue
to show Junagadh claim in Indian Gujarat State; discussions with
Bangladesh remain stalled to delimit a small section of river
boundary, to exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in both countries, to
allocate divided villages, and to stop illegal cross-border trade,
migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous
border; Bangladesh protests India's attempts to fence off
high-traffic sections; dispute with Bangladesh over New Moore/South
Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime
boundary delimitation; India seeks cooperation from Bhutan and Burma
to keep Indian Nagaland and Assam separatists from hiding in remote
areas along the borders; Joint Border Committee with Nepal continues
to demarcate minor disputed boundary sections; India has instituted
a stricter border regime to keep out Maoist insurgents and control
illegal cross-border activities from Nepal
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 92,394 (Tibet/China) 60,922 (Sri
Lanka)
IDPs: 650,000 (Jammu and Kashmir conflicts; most IDPs are Kashmiri
Hindus); 113,000 (resulting from 26 December 2004 tsunami) (2004)
Illicit drugs:
world's largest producer of licit opium for the pharmaceutical
trade, but an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit
international drug markets; transit point for illicit narcotics
produced in neighboring countries; illicit producer of methaqualone;
vulnerable to narcotics money laundering through the hawala system
This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005
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@Indian Ocean
Introduction Indian Ocean
Background:
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's five oceans
(after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the
Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean). Four critically important access
waterways are the Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el Mandeb
(Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and Strait of
Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). The decision by the International
Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth
ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Indian Ocean
south of 60 degrees south.
Geography Indian Ocean
Location:
body of water between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and
Australia
Geographic coordinates:
20 00 S, 80 00 E
Map references:
Political Map of the World
Area:
total: 68.556 million sq km
note: includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Flores Sea,
Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Java Sea,
Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Savu Sea, Strait of
Malacca, Timor Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative:
about 5.5 times the size of the US
Coastline:
66,526 km
Climate:
northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to
October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and
October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February
in the southern Indian Ocean
Terrain:
surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system
of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of
surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean;
