Word: archipelago
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...realm of geopolitical disputes, the barren Paracel Islands are a far cry from the mountains of Kashmir or the alleys of Gaza. Claimed by both China and Vietnam, the archipelago comprises some 30 tiny spits of land in the middle of the South China Sea with innocuous names like Woody Island and Antelope Reef. No one lives there, nor has there been any evidence that lucrative natural resources lie beneath its lagoons and reefs. But, experts say, at a time when regional economies are booming - and nationalist sentiments swelling - the Paracels and the heavily contested Spratly islands further south remain...
...world to Hainan, a Chinese island province off the mainland's southern coast. But while planners dream of creating a Chinese Hawaii - with the Paracels' clear waters a potential luxury destination for divers - the leaked proposal made Hanoi bristle almost instantly. China has retained de facto control over the archipelago since seizing it in its entirety with gunboats in 1974, but Vietnam has stubbornly clung to its long-standing territorial claims over the archipelago. On Jan. 4, a Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman said the possibility of Chinese tourists snorkeling around a Paracel cove "seriously violates Vietnam's sovereignty." Chinese officials...
...tropical islands that make up the Okinawa Prefecture (also known as the Ryukyu Islands) look and feel very different from the rest of Japan, with their own language, cuisine and customs. While East Asian travelers have long been aware of their charms, the 1,000-km-long archipelago stretching out toward Taiwan remains something of an unknown to long-haul visitors, apart from its dubious renown as the location of the Battle of Okinawa. Visiting Japan? Here are five reasons why the Ryukyus should figure on your itinerary...
...That message is being heard across this vast archipelago and beyond. Indonesia alone has a dozen or more REDD projects. "It's this new fad - everyone needs to have one," says Linkie. "It's good that governors from other provinces are [saying], 'Must have a REDD project' rather than 'Let's log it all and convert it into oil palm.'" In partnership with the Australian investment bank Macquarie Group, FFI has six other REDD schemes: three in Indonesia and others in Cambodia, Ecuador and Liberia. Last month, governors Irwandi and Schwarzenegger joined 30 other subnational leaders - including a dozen other...
...their challenge to governorship. The Ampatuans are not a family to be crossed: the clan is known to run its own private army; some estimates put its strength at between 200 and 500 men. To be sure, warlordism is not unique to Mindanao; it afflicts other parts of the archipelago and the northern province of Abra is practically a byword for political vendettas. But it is highly prevalent in Mindanao's conflict-affected areas where there is a large array of armed groups that include separatist rebels, civilian militias and well-established crime syndicates. Not surprisingly, the massacre has intensified...