Disputes - international maritime boundary with Cambodia not defined; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary with Thailand resolved, August 1997; maritime boundary dispute with China in the Gulf of Tonkin; Paracel Islands occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; offshore islands and sections of boundary with Cambodia are in dispute; sections of land border with China are indefinite

Illicit drugs key growing areas in Vietnam cultivated 6,150 hectares of poppy in 1997 (an increase of 95% over 1996), with a potential production of 45 metric tons (an increase of 80% over 1996) of opium; opium producer and probably minor transit point for Southeast Asian heroin destined for the US and Europe; growing opium addiction; possible small-scale heroin production

NOTE: The information regarding Vietnam on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Vietnam Transnational Issues 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Vietnam Transnational Issues 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.