fiber optic trunk lines, 55 earth stations for domestic
satellites
international: 5 INTELSAT earth stations (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian
Ocean) and 1 INMARSAT earth station; several international fiber optic
links to Japan and Hong Kong

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 274, FM NA, shortwave 0
radios: 215 million

Television:
broadcast stations: 202 (repeaters 2,050)
televisions: 75 million

@China:Defense Forces

Branches: People's Liberation Army (PLA), which includes the Ground
Forces, Navy (includes Marines and Naval Aviation), Air Force, Second
Artillery Corps (the strategic missile force), People's Armed Police
(internal security troops, nominally subordinate to Ministry of Public
Security, but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces"
and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA in war time)

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 351,330,411; males fit for
military service 194,286,619; males reach military age (18) annually
9,841,658 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: defense budget - 63.09 billion yuan, NA% of GDP
(1995 est.); note - conversion of the defense budget into US dollars
using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

________________________________________________________________________

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

(territory of Australia)

@Christmas Island:Geography

Location: Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of
Indonesia

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
total area: 135 sq km
land area: 135 sq km
comparative area: about 0.8 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 138.9 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds

Terrain: steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau

Natural resources: phosphate

Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 0%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 100%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
current issues: NA
natural hazards: almost completely surrounded by a reef which can be a
maritime hazard
international agreements: NA

Note: located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean

@Christmas Island:People

Population: 889 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA

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