List of territorial disputes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of extant territorial disputes around the world. Bold indicates one claimant's full control; italics, one or more claimants' partial control;
[edit] Disputes involving states that recognize each other
[edit] In Africa and neighbouring seas
[edit] In the Americas
| Territory | Claimants | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Not specified |  Chile Bolivia |
Bolivia claims and demands sovereign sea access, lost during the War of the Pacific 1879. |
| Ankoko Island/Isla de Anacoco |  Venezuela Guyana |
|
| Arroyo de la Invernada or Rincón de Artigas and Albornoz Village |
 Brazil Uruguay |
|
| Southern half of Belize |  Belize Guatemala |
Guatemala formerly claiming all Belize. |
| Bajo Nuevo Bank (Petrel Islands) |  Colombia Nicaragua United States Jamaica |
Honduras has recognized the sovereignty of Colombia; other claimants have not |
| Conejo Island |  Honduras El Salvador |
|
| Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)[1] |  United Kingdom Argentina |
Argentina invaded the Falklands, resulting in the Falklands War |
| French Guiana west of the Marouini River |  France Suriname |
|
| Guantánamo Bay[1] | United States Cuba |
The United States is the territory's lease-holder, but Cuba retains de jure sovereignty. |
| Guaira Falls/Sete Quedas | Brazil Paraguay |
The disputed islands were submerged by the reservoir of Itaipú. |
| Guyana east of the Upper Courantyne River | Guyana Suriname |
|
| Guyana west of the Essequibo River (Guayana Esequiba) | Guyana Venezuela |
|
| Hans Island |  Canada Denmark |
Claimed by both Canada and Denmark (on behalf of Greenland). |
| Isla Aves (Bird Island) | Venezuela Dominica |
Dominica abandoned the claim in 2006. Continue the fight for the sea adjacent to the island. |
| Isla Brasilera/Ilha Brasileira | Brazil Uruguay |
Uruguay argues that the tripartite point with Argentina and Brazil is not defined, but those countries do not accept it. |
| Isla Suárez/Ilha de Guajará-mirim | Bolivia Brazil |
|
| Los Monjes archipelago[1] | Venezuela Colombia |
Colombia no longer claims the islands, only the surrounding waters. |
| Area near Mejito De La Cruz |  Costa Rica Nicaragua |
|
| Navassa Island[1] | United States Haiti |
|
| Quita Sueño Bank | Colombia Nicaragua |
|
| Pacific Ocean Sea border | Chile Peru |
This arguably covers 19,000-35,000 square metres of land near border marker number one. |
| Land around the Rio San Juan [disambiguation needed] (approximately 300 square kilometres) |
Costa Rica Nicaragua |
|
| San Andrés and Providencia | Colombia Nicaragua |
Honduras de facto recognizes Colombian claim. |
| Sapodilla Cay | Belize Guatemala Honduras |
Guatemala formerly claiming all Belize. |
| Serranilla Bank | Colombia Nicaragua United States Jamaica |
Honduras has recognized the sovereignty of Colombia; other claimants have not |
| South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands[1] | United Kingdom Argentina |
Including Shag Rocks. |
| Southern Patagonian Ice Field between Mount Fitzroy and Cerro Daudet |
Argentina Chile |
Parts of the border still officially undefined. |
[edit] Territory disputed between Canada and the United States
Main article: List of areas disputed by Canada and the United States
| Territory | Canadian Claimant |
American Claimant |
|---|---|---|
| Machias Seal Island |  New Brunswick |
 Maine |
| North Rock | New Brunswick |
Maine |
| Strait of Juan de Fuca |  British Columbia |
 Washington |
| Dixon Entrance | British Columbia |
 Alaska |
| Portland Canal | British Columbia |
Alaska |
| Beaufort Sea |  Yukon |
Alaska |
| Northwest Passage and some other Arctic waters | Canadian territorial waters | U.S. claims navigation rights |
[edit] In Asia and the Pacific
| Territory | Claimants | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aasal, Al-Qaa, Al-Qasr, Deir Al-Aashayer, Kfar Kouq and Tufail |  Lebanon Syria |
||
| Abu Musa |  Iran United Arab Emirates |
||
| Aksai Chin |  People's Republic of China India |
[1] possibly also Taiwan[8] |
|
| Northern part of the Baekdu Mountain | People's Republic of China South Korea |
Territory's Chinese name is Changbai Mountain Not claimed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The DPRK has recognized the northern part of the Baekdu Mountain as territory of the PRC in 1962. possibly also Taiwan[8] |
|
| Bhutanese enclaves in Tibet, namely Cherkip Gompa, Dho, Dungmar, Gesur, Gezon, Itse Gompa, Khochar, Nyanri, Ringung, Sanmar, Tarchen and Zuthulphuk | People's Republic of China Bhutan |
possibly also Taiwan[8] | |
| Boraibari |  Bangladesh India |
Boraibari falls under the adverse possession category with the map suggesting that it should be within India but it was being controlled by Bangladesh authority since 1971. | |
| Chumbi and Dobta | People's Republic of China India Taiwan (Republic of China)[8] |
||
| Daikhata-Dumabari | India Bangladesh |
||
| Various areas: Dak Jerman/Dak Duyt, Dak Dang/Dak Huyt, the La Drang area and the islands of Baie/Koh Ta Kiev, Milieu/Koh Thmey, Eau/Koh Ses, Pic/Koh Tonsay and the Northern Pirates/Koh Po |  Cambodia Vietnam |
||
| Doi Lang |  Burma Thailand |
||
| Fasht Ad Dibal and Qit'at Jaradeh |  Bahrain Qatar |
These were not included in the 2001 International Court of Justice judgement, as low-tide elevations. | |
| several areas in the Fergana Valley |  Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Uzbekistan |
||
| Greater and Lesser Tunbs | Iran United Arab Emirates |
||
| Hibernia Reef |  Australia Indonesia |
||
| Ieodo Island/Suyan Rock (aka Socotra Rock) | South Korea People's Republic of China |
Also possibly claimed by: Taiwan (Republic of China)[8] North Korea[9] |
|
| Indo-Bangladesh enclaves | India Bangladesh |
||
| Isfara Valley | Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan |
||
| Kachatheevu Island | India Sri Lanka |
||
| Karang Unarang | Indonesia Malaysia |
||
| Kashmir | India Pakistan |
[1] A small area is also claimed by  Afghanistan (see Pakistan/Afghanistan dispute below) |
|
| Kalapani [disambiguation needed] region (Kalapani River), also Susta region (part), and Antudanda area | India Nepal |
||
| Khuriya Muriya Islands |  Oman Yemen |
||
| Korea | North Korea South Korea |
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea administers North Korea, but Article 1 of the Constitution of North Korea reads: "The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is an independent socialist State representing the interests of all the Korean people." The Republic of Korea administers South Korea, but Article 3 of the Constitution of South Korea reads : "The territory of the Republic of Korea shall consist of the Korean peninsula and its adjacent islands." | |
| Kula Kangri | Bhutan People's Republic of China |
possibly also Taiwan[8] | |
| South Kuril Islands |  Russia Japan |
[1] | |
| Lathitila | India Bangladesh |
||
| Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo in Korean, Takeshima in Japanese) | South Korea North Korea Japan |
[1][9][10] | |
| Ligitan and Sipadan | Malaysia Indonesia |
The 2002 International Court of Justice ruling awarded both islands to Malaysia, but left unsettled the maritime boundary immediately southwest and west of the islands between Malaysia and Indonesia. | |
| Limbang area |  Brunei Malaysia |
||
| Macclesfield Bank | People's Republic of China Taiwan (Republic of China)[8] Vietnam Philippines |
||
| Matthew and Hunter Islands |  Vanuatu France |
[1] | |
| Minerva Reefs |  Tonga Fiji |
Fiji disputes not Tonga's claim to the reefs but any maritime EEZ claim by Tonga based on the reefs under the rules of UNCLOS. | |
| Minicoy Island | India Maldives |
||
| Muhurichar river island | India Bangladesh |
||
| certain islands in the Naf River | Bangladesh Burma |
||
| Nawalparasi region | Nepal India |
||
| Parts of North West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan | Pakistan Afghanistan |
||
| Small areas of Oecussi-Ambeno |  East Timor Indonesia |
||
| Okinotorishima | Japan People's Republic of China |
The PRC does not claim ownership of the islet; rather, it argues that it is not large enough to entitle Japan to the EEZ of the surrounding ocean. | |
| Paracel Islands | People's Republic of China Taiwan (Republic of China)[8] Vietnam |
[1] | |
| "Point 20"; a small area of reclaimed land in Singapore |  Singapore Malaysia |
||
| part of Poipet commune | Thailand Cambodia |
||
| Prachin Buri area | Thailand Cambodia |
||
| Preah Vihear Temple (Khao Phra Wihan) | Thailand Cambodia |
Temple complex awarded to Cambodia by an International Court of Justice ruling in 1962, but ongoing dispute over adjacent areas. | |
| Pulau Batek/Fatu Sinai | Indonesia East Timor |
||
| Pyrdiwah | India Bangladesh |
||
| Qarooh and Umm Al Maradim |  Kuwait Saudi Arabia |
||
| Sabah (North Borneo) | Malaysia Philippines |
Philippines lays a dormant claim on Sabah on the basis that it is a historical part of the Sulu Sultanate (see North Borneo dispute). |
|
| Sakhalin (southern) | Russia |
Japan has renounced Sakhalin pursuant to the San Francisco Peace Treaty without recognizing the Russian claim. |
|
| Scarborough Reef | Philippines People's Republic of China Taiwan (Republic of China)[8] |
Philippines defends the atoll with naval activity; tensions continue over sovereignty of the atoll, fishing rights in surrounding waters, placement of a survey marker by China, etc.
|
|
| Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) | Japan People's Republic of China Taiwan (Republic of China)[8] |
[1] | |
| Shaksgam Valley | People's Republic of China India |
possibly also Taiwan[8] | |
| Shatt Al-Arab | Iran Iraq |
||
| Siachen Glacier and Saltoro Ridge area | India Pakistan |
||
| Sir Creek | India Pakistan |
||
| South Talpatti/New Moore/Purbasha Island | India Bangladesh |
||
| Spratly Islands | Taiwan (Republic of China)[8] People's Republic of China Vietnam Philippines (part) Malaysia (part) Brunei (part) |
Philippines has released a law that proclaims the islands as a "regime of islands".[1] |
|
| Swains Island | United States Tokelau |
[1] This claim doesn't hold a de jure status as  New Zealand formally recognises the USA's sovereignty over Swains Island. |
|
| 48 square miles (124 km²) of territory[citation needed] | Syria Jordan |
||
| Exclusive Economic Zone near the Tasman Sea | Australia Japan |
Japan continues to do whaling operations in the area. For more info see Whaling in Japan | |
| Parts of Three Pagodas Pass | Burma Thailand |
||
| Tumen River (disputed sovereignty of certain islands) | People's Republic of China North Korea South Korea |
[1][9] possibly also Taiwan[8] |
|
| The islands of Ukatny, Zhestky and the disputed 'island' of Malozhemchuzny | Russia Kazakhstan |
||
| Vozrozhdeniya Island (now a peninsula) | Kazakhstan Uzbekistan |
||
| Wake Island | United States Marshall Islands |
[1] | |
| a small part of Xinjiang | People's Republic of China India Taiwan (Republic of China)[8] |
||
| Yalu River (disputed sovereignty of certain islands) | People's Republic of China North Korea South Korea |
The allocation to North Korea of all of the large islands in the lower Yalu River, including Pidan [disambiguation needed] and Sindo at the mouth, is now clear.[11] The river's maritime rights remain shared between the two nations. | |
| Zarrara oilfield and Khor al-Odaid areas | United Arab Emirates Saudi Arabia |
[1] |
[edit] In Europe
[edit] Disputes between a state and its subnational entities, or between subnational entities
- Belgaum: Karnataka and Maharashtra (in India)
- Kasaragod: Karnataka and Kerala (in India)
Ceara and 
Piaui in Brazil- Lubicon traditional territory between the Peace River and Athabasca River and north of Lesser Slave Lake: The Lubicon Cree Nation and the Government of Canada (in Canada).
- Southern edge of Labrador:
Quebec and 
Newfoundland and Labrador (in Canada). - Large area of Yucatán Peninsula: Mexican states of
Campeche and 
Quintana Roo (in 
Mexico). - North Kosovo: theoretically under interim UN administration, but de facto governed as continued part of
Serbia. - A one-mile wide section along the 35th Parallel:
Georgia and 
Tennessee[12][13] (in the United States).
[edit] Disputes involving parties that each have some territory under control but do not recognize each other
See also: List of states with limited recognition
| Territory | Claimants | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abkhazia |  Republic of Abkhazia Georgia |
||
| Eastern part of Bhutan | Bhutan Taiwan (Republic of China)[8] |
||
| North Cyprus |  Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Cyprus |
||
| Mainland China (including Tibet and Xinjiang) | People's Republic of China Taiwan (Republic of China)[8] |
||
| Moldovan-controlled area of Dubasari district |  Moldova Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic |
||
| East Jerusalem |  Israel Palestinian Authority |
||
| Northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret). | Israel Syria |
Israeli territory occupied by Syria between 1950 and 1967. In the Six day war it was recaptured by Israel. Still claimed by Syria. | |
| Golan Heights | Israel Syria |
||
| A small area of Gilgit-Baltistan | Pakistan Taiwan (Republic of China)[8][14] |
||
| Kokkina/Erenköy exclave | Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Cyprus |
This area is separated from the rest of the land controlled by North Cyprus by land controlled by the Republic of Cyprus. | |
| Heixiazi / Bolshoy Ussuriyskiy (eastern half) |
Russia Taiwan (Republic of China)[8][14] |
Split by the People's Republic of China and Russia in 2004 | |
| Heixiazi / Bolshoy Ussuriyskiy (western half) |
People's Republic of China Taiwan (Republic of China)[8][14] |
Split by the People's Republic of China and Russia in 2004 | |
| Israel | Israel Palestinian Authority |
Hamas currently has de facto control of the Gaza Strip. Most Palestinian parties and factions recognized Israel Proper following the Oslo Accord. | |
| Kachin State | Burma Taiwan (Republic of China)[8][14] |
North part west of Gaoligong Mountain (高黎貢山) in western Yunnan, China, and the Division of Sagaing: Jiangxinpo (江心坡) and Nankan (南坎). | |
| 106.40 square kilometres of formerly Chinese territory in Kazakhstan | Kazakhstan Taiwan (Republic of China) |
||
| Kosovo | Serbia Kosovo |
||
| Kutsuzov island | Russia Taiwan (Republic of China) |
||
| Lachin corridor |  Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Azerbaijan |
||
| Nagorno-Karabakh | Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Azerbaijan |
||
| Pamir Mountains (west of Xinjiang)[8][14] (Northern and central parts) |
Tajikistan Taiwan (Republic of China) |
||
| Pamir Mountains (west of Xinjiang)[8][14] (Southern part) |
Afghanistan Taiwan (Republic of China) |
||
| Part of the Rasŏn administrative division | North Korea Taiwan (Republic of China)[8] |
||
| Shebaa Farms | Israel Syria Lebanon |
||
| Sixty-Four Villages East of the Heilongjiang River | Russia Taiwan (Republic of China)[14] |
||
| Somaliland |  Somaliland Somalia |
||
| South Ossetia |  Republic of South Ossetia Georgia |
See also: 2008 South Ossetia war
|
|
| Northern and eastern Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka Tamil Eelam |
||
| 'Border' checkpoint near Strovilia | United Kingdom Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus |
UK's claim in regard to its Sovereign Base Areas Technically, of course, this also involves Cyprus; the checkpoint is partially on UN-administered land, and Cyprus claims all of the island. (See: Europe) |
|
| Taiwan Penghu Jinmen Matsu Islands Pratas Islands |
Taiwan (Republic of China)[15] People's Republic of China[16] |
See also: Anti-Secession Law Legal status of Taiwan |
|
| Transnistria | Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic Moldova |
||
| Tuva | Russia Taiwan (Republic of China)[8] |
||
| Varnita, Copanca and Bendery (also known as Tighina or Bender) | Moldova Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic |
||
| The West Bank (called Judea and Samaria in Israel) | Israel Palestinian Authority |
See Israeli–Palestinian conflict | |
| Western Sahara |  Morocco Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic |
The United Nations considers the sovereignty issue as unresolved pending a final solution, and to that end, has a mission in the territory to oversee a referendum on self-determination. Sovereignty was relinquished by Spain in 1976. |
[edit] Formally frozen dispute
- See also demilitarized zone
[edit] Antarctica
The Antarctic Treaty System, formed on 1 December 1959 and entered into force on 23 June 1961, establishes the legal framework for the management of Antarctica and provides administration for the continent, which is carried out through consultative member meetings. It freezes the territorial claims of all signatories (all claimants have acceded) for as long as the treaty is in force. However, it is not a final settlement; parties can choose to withdraw from the System at any time. Furthermore, only a minority of states have signed it, and it is not formally sanctioned by the United Nations. Thus, Antarctica remains the only part of the planet any (non-signatory) state can still lay claim to as terra nullius (on the grounds of it not having been part of any existing state's legal and effective territory).
[edit] Disputes between a state and a secessionist group with no territorial control
[edit] See also
- List of sovereign states
- List of dependent territories
- List of subnational entities
- Neutral territory
- Territorial claims in the Arctic
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Field Listing - Disputes - international, CIA World Factbook
- ^ a b African Affairs - Sign In Page
- ^ a b Zapatero stirs anger of Morocco - International Herald Tribune
- ^ Middle-East-Info.org - Algeria
- ^ Why are Egypt and Sudan in dispute over the Hala'ib Triangle?(Quizzical)(Brief Article) | Geographical | Find Articles at BNET.com
- ^ The Court finds that Kasikili/Sedudu Island forms part of the territory of Botswana | Market Wire | Find Articles at BNET.com
- ^ Compte rendu du déplacement d'une délégation du groupe interparlementaire France-Afrique centrale au Gabon, en Guinée équatoriale et à Sao Tomé-et-Principe, parliamentary report of the French Senate, 2003.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x The Republic of China (ROC) now based in Taiwan is involved in territorial disputes with many countries near China while not recognized by any of them due to having no diplomatic relations. The ROC recognizes neither the People's Republic of China (PRC) nor its border agreements or treaties with any other countries while Article 4 of the Constitution of the Republic of China states that "The territory of the Republic of China according to its existing national boundaries shall not be altered except by resolution of the National Assembly." Section 5 of Article 4 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China now overrides this provision.
- ^ a b c d The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) do not recognize each other.
- ^ Japan does not recognize the statehood of North Korea.
- ^ Even official Chinese maps award these islands to North Korea, such as the provincial map on p. 41 in the 2005 Chinese atlas “Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Jiaotong Dituji” ISBN 7-80104-652-8, (www.starmap.com.cn)
- ^ "Lawmakers Say Part Of Tenn. Belongs To Ga.", WSMV-TV, February 11, 2008
- ^ Shaila Dewan, Georgia Claims a Sliver of the Tennessee River, The New York Times, February 22, 2008
- ^ a b c d e f g . Relinquished by the People's Republic of China but still claimed by the Republic of China.
- ^ Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China, Article 9, Section 2
- ^ Constitution of the People's Republic of China, Preamble
