ssive gains in economic investment and output, India faces
pressing problems such as the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over
Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation,
extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife.

Indian Ocean
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 latitude.

Indonesia
The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th
century; the islands were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945.
Indonesia declared its independence after Japan's surrender, but it
required four years of intermittent negotiations, recurring
hostilities, and UN mediation before the Netherlands agreed to
relinquish its colony. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic
state and home to the world's largest Muslim population. Current
issues include: alleviating poverty, preventing terrorism,
consolidating democracy after four decades of authoritarianism,
implementing financial sector reforms, stemming corruption, and
holding the military and police accountable for human rights
violations. Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the December 2004
tsunami, which particularly affected Aceh province causing over
100,000 deaths and over $4 billion in damage. An additional
earthquake in March 2005 created heavy destruction on the island of
Nias. Reconstruction in these areas may take up to a decade. In
2005, Indonesia reached a historic peace agreement with armed
separatists in Aceh, but it continues to face a low intensity
separatist guerilla movement in Papua.

Iran
Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in
1979 after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and the shah was
forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces established a
theocratic system of government with ultimate political authority
nominally vested in a learned religious scholar. Iranian-US
relations have been strained since a group of Iranian students
seized the U