Compare Paracel Islands (2003) - British Indian Ocean Territory (2007)

Compare Paracel Islands (2003) z British Indian Ocean Territory (2007)

	Paracel Islands (2003)	British Indian Ocean Territory (2007)

Airports	1 (2002)	1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002)	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
Area	total: NA sq km land: NA sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 54,400 sq km land: 60 sq km; Diego Garcia 44 sq km water: 54,340 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands
Area - comparative	NA	land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	The Paracel Islands are surrounded by productive fishing grounds and by potential oil and gas reserves. In 1932, French Indochina annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Pattle Island; maintenance was continued by its successor, Vietnam. China has occupied the Paracel Islands since 1974, when its troops seized a South Vietnamese garrison occupying the western islands. The islands are claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.	Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.
Climate	tropical	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	518 km	698 km
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Paracel Islands	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Diplomatic representation from the US	-	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	-	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam	Mauritius and Seychelles claim 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 2006, the High Court of London reversed U.K. 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
Economy - overview	China announced plans in 1997 to open the islands for tourism.	All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where a joint UK-US military facility is located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installation are performed by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the native Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The territory makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps.
Electricity - consumption	-	NA kWh
Electricity - production	-	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military
Elevation extremes	lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Rocky Island 14 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m
Environment - current issues	NA	NA
Executive branch	-	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Leigh TURNER (since July 2006); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); note - both reside in the UK and are represented by the officer commanding British Forces on Diego Garcia cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
Flag description	-	white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag
Geographic coordinates	16 30 N, 112 00 E	6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E
Geography - note	composed of 130 small coral islands and reefs divided into the northeast Amphitrite Group and the western Crescent Group	archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility
Irrigated land	0 sq km (1998 est.)	0 sq km
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)
Legal system	-	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
Location	Southeastern Asia, group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea, about one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Map references	Southeast Asia	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	NA	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Military - note	occupied by China	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016
Natural hazards	typhoons	NA
Natural resources	none	coconuts, fish, sugarcane
Population	no indigenous inhabitants note: there are scattered Chinese garrisons (July 2003 est.)	no indigenous inhabitants note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s and 1970s; in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in November 2004, there were approximately 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia
Ports and harbors	small Chinese port facilities on Woody Island and Duncan Island being expanded	-
Radio broadcast stations	-	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Telephone system	-	general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: country code (Diego Garcia) - 246; international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use	-	NA
Television broadcast stations	-	1 (1997)
Terrain	mostly low and flat	flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)
Waterways	none	-

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