Until the twentieth century, ethnic and linguistic diversity was dominant in the vast archipelago, and as a result, no national literature existed.

But the Government required the airline to continue serving money-losing "missionary routes" - outposts in this vast archipelago where the planes often fly empty.

Over the years, the Indonesian military gained a widely acknowledged reputation for brutality as it suppressed rebellions in its vast archipelago.

Given the Government's strained finances, it is probably impossible for Indonesia to provide poor people across this vast archipelago with subsidized rice.

It features a vast 33-island archipelago on the planet-moon Taurus.

It will mobilize 750,000 workers and volunteers today and tomorrow to immunize 24 million children across a vast archipelago of more than 6,000 islands.

There were no details on where in the vast Indonesian archipelago the raid had taken place, or where the police were concentrating their search.

To see the vast archipelago take a boat to Vaxholm to see the fortress, visit a sleepy summer town.

Indonesia's vast archipelago is rife with local rebellions, Islamic radical movements and inter-religious conflicts.

Mandala Airlines was established in 1969 and is one of several low-cost airlines that serve the vast Indonesian archipelago.