| Country | Disputes |
|---|
| Macau | none |
| Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of | the Albanian government calls for the protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians in F.Y.R.O.M. while continuing to seek regional cooperation; ethnic Albanians in Kosovo resist demarcation of the F.Y.R.O.M.-Serbia and Montenegro boundary in accordance with the 2000 delimitation treaty, which transfered a small amount of land to F.Y.R.O.M.; dispute with Greece over country's name persists |
| Madagascar | claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France) |
| Malawi | dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River remain dormant |
| Malaysia | involved in complex dispute with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; disputes over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's land reclamation, bridge construction, maritime boundaries, and Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Putih persist - parties agree to ICJ arbitration on island dispute within three years; ICJ awarded Ligitan and Sipadan islands off the coast of Sabah, also claimed by Indonesia and Philippines, to Malaysia; a 1 kilometer segment at the mouth of the Golok River remains in dispute with Thailand; Philippines retains a now dormant claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo based on the Sultanate of Sulu's granting the Philippines Government power of attorney to pursue the Sultanate's sovereignty claim; in 2003 Brunei and Malaysia ceased gas and oil expl |
| Maldives | none |
| Mali | none |
| Malta | none |
| Man, Isle of | none |
| Marshall Islands | claims US territory of Wake Island |
| Martinique | none |
| Mauritania | Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara have been dormant in recent years |
| Mauritius | Mauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation in 2001; claims French-administered Tromelin Island |
| Mayotte | claimed by Comoros |
| Mexico | prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practices and infrastructure in the border region have strained water-sharing arrangements with the US; nationals from Central America slip into Mexico seeking work or transit into the US; undocumented Mexican nationals continue to enter the United States |
| Micronesia, Federated States of | none |
| Midway Islands | none |
| Moldova | Transdniester difficulties with the region complicate controlling border crossing and customs regimes with Ukraine, despite concordance on 2003 delimitation and customs protocols and OSCE assistance |
| Monaco | none |
| Mongolia | none |
| Montserrat | none |
| Morocco | claims and administers Western Sahara whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals; Polisario, Algeria, and European supporters agree to the latest US-brokered UN proposals for limited temporary autonomy for 4-5 years followed by a referendum on independence, but Morocco's final response is pending; Morocco protests Spain's control over the coastal enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, the islands of Penon de Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and surrounding waters; Morocco also rejected Spain's unilateral designation of a median line from the Canary Islands in 2002 to set limits to undersea resource exploration and refugee interdiction, but agreed in 2003 to discuss a comprehensive maritime delimitation; Morocco serves as the primary launching area of illegal migration into Spain from North Africa |
| Mozambique | none |
