extreme
south near Antarctica from May to October

Environment--current issues: endangered marine species include the
dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian
Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea

Environment--international agreements:
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography--note: major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait
of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and
the Lombok Strait

Government

Data code: none; the US Government has not approved a standard
for hydrographic codes--see the Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic
Codes appendix

Economy

Economy--overview: The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes
connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and
the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum
and petroleum products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and
Indonesia. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the
bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing
fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the
Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of
hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia,
Iran, India, and western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's
offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands
rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively
exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa,
Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

Communications

Telephone system:
international: submarine cables from India to UAE and Malaysia and
from Sri Lanka to Djibouti and Indonesia

Transportation

Ports and harbors: Calcutta (India), Chennai (Madras; India),
Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia),
Melbourne (Australia), Mumbai (Bombay; India), Richards Bay (South
Africa)

Transnational Issues

Disputes--international: some maritime disputes (see littoral
states)

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@Indonesia
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Introduction

Background: Indonesia declared its independence in 1945 from the
Netherlands, a claim disputed, then recognized by the Dutch in 1949.
In 1975 Indonesian troops occupied Portuguese East