List of territorial disputes
Territorial disputes have occurred throughout history, over lands around the world. Bold indicates one claimant's full control; italics indicates one or more claimants' partial control.
Ongoing disputes between UN member/observer states
Africa
Territory | Claimants | Notes |
---|---|---|
Abyei, Heglig, Jodha, Kafia Kingi and Kaka | Sudan South Sudan |
Both Sudan and South Sudan have claimed the area after the civil war that led to South Sudan's independence. Heglig was controlled by South Sudan in mid-April 2012 but retaken by the Sudan. Abyei was taken in May 2012. |
Banc du Geyser | Madagascar Comoros France |
France claims the reef as a part of the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean, a district of the French Southern Territories. |
Bassas da India, Europa Island and Juan de Nova Island | France Madagascar[1] |
De facto a part of the French overseas territory of the French Southern Territories. |
Ceuta,[2] Melilla, other plazas de soberanía | Spain Morocco |
Ceuta and Melilla are administered by Spain as autonomous cities.
An incident on Perejil Island happened in 2002, after which both countries agreed to return to status quo.[3] |
Chagos Archipelago | United Kingdom Mauritius Maldives[4] |
United Kingdom administers the archipelago as part of the British Indian Ocean Territory. An advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice has found the United Kingdom administration to be unlawful and called upon the United Kingdom to complete the process of decolonization with respect to Mauritius. |
Doumeira Mountain, Ras Doumeira and Doumeira Island | Eritrea Djibouti |
Basis of the Djiboutian–Eritrean border conflict of 2008. Disputed territory occupied by Eritrea following withdrawal of Qatari peacekeepers in June 2017.[5][6] Alternatively transliterated as the Dumaira Mountains.[5] |
Glorioso Islands | France Madagascar Comoros |
De facto a part of the French overseas territory of the French Southern Territories. |
Hala'ib Triangle | Egypt Sudan[7] |
Previously under joint administration; Egypt now maintains full de facto control of the Hala'ib Triangle. The boundaries claimed by Egypt and Sudan both include the Hala'ib Triangle. |
Ilemi Triangle | Kenya South Sudan |
De facto controlled by Kenya. Ethiopian tribes have used and made raids in the land, but the Ethiopian government has never made a claim to it, agreeing it was Sudanese in 1902, 1907 and 1972 treaties.[8][9][10] |
KaNgwane and Ingwavuma | South Africa Eswatini |
Eswatini claims territories which it states were confiscated during colonial times.[11] The area claimed by Eswatini is the former bantustan of KaNgwane, which now forms the northern parts of Jozini and uMhlabuyalingana local municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal, and the southern part of Nkomazi, the southeastern part of Umjindi and the far eastern part of Albert Luthuli local municipalities in Mpumalanga. |
Koualou village and surrounding area | Burkina Faso Benin |
Burkina Faso and Benin retain a border dispute at this 68 km2 triangular area of land near the tripoint border with Togo.[12][13] In a 2008 meeting, it was declared that the territory was a neutral zone, neither Burkinabé nor Beninese.[12] According to the UN Refugee Agency in 2015, there were issues of children being born stateless in the area, however a Beninese civil registration office has taken control of registering births in the area.[14] |
Kpéaba village area (near Sipilou/Siquita) | Ivory Coast Guinea |
The Guinean military occupied this village for 1 month from January to February 2013, before withdrawing in preparation of talks.[15] In December 2016, Guinea soldiers and civilians attacked the village, killing 1 and wounding several others, before returning to their side of the border.[16] According to the Guinean Minister of Defence, the Guinean army had been asked not to send any soldiers to this area and had no involvement in this incident.[17] |
Area near Logoba/Moyo District | South Sudan Uganda |
[18] |
Border near Chiengi, Lunchinda-Pweto Province | Zambia Democratic Republic of Congo |
Dormant dispute. |
Mayotte | France Comoros[1] |
Under the 2009 referendum, the population supported becoming an overseas department of France, and so became one on March 31, 2011. |
Islands in Mbamba Bay, Lake Nyasa | Tanzania Malawi |
Lundo Is. and Mbambo Is. are claimed as part of the lake, as Malawi claims to the shore based on 1890 Anglo-German treaty. See Tanzania–Malawi dispute. |
Mbañie Island, Cocotiers and Congas Island | Gabon Equatorial Guinea |
Contested islands in Corisco Bay, valuable for their oil.[19][20] |
Migingo Island vicinity, and, farther north, the vicinity of the islands of Lolwe, Oyasi, Remba, Ringiti and Sigulu, all a maritime rights dispute in Lake Victoria. | Kenya Uganda |
|
Several islands in the Congo River | Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of Congo |
|
Several islands in the Ntem River | Cameroon Equatorial Guinea |
|
Several villages near the Okpara River | Benin Nigeria |
|
Orange River border line | Namibia South Africa |
Namibia claims the border lies along the middle of the river, while South Africa claims it lies along the north bank. |
The Rufunzo Valley and Sabanerwa | Rwanda Burundi |
|
Rukwanzi Island and the Semliki River valley | Democratic Republic of Congo Uganda |
|
Sindabezi Island | Zambia Zimbabwe[21] |
|
Socotra Archipelago | Yemen Somalia |
Somalia, while not formally claiming the archipelago, asked for the United Nations to look into "the status" of the Socotran archipelago (i.e., whether or not it "should" belong to Yemen or rather Somalia).[22] |
Tromelin Island | France Mauritius |
De facto a part of the French overseas territory of the French Southern Territories. |
Wadi Halfa Salient | Egypt Sudan | |
Western Sahara | Morocco Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (Polisario Front) |
Territory controlled by Morocco (80%) since 1975 outside of the international law, and classified by the UN as a Non-Self-Governing Territory. |
Asia
Territory | Claimants | Notes |
---|---|---|
Ashmore and Cartier Islands | Australia Indonesia |
Indonesia argues that the islands, known in Indonesian as Kepulauan Pasir, were first discovered and inhabited by local fishermen from Lesser Sunda Islands, which were then part of Dutch East Indies.[23][24][25] |
Aarsal, Deir El Aachayer, Kfar Qouq, Mazraat Deir al-Ashayer, Qaa, Qasr and Tuffah | Lebanon Syria |
|
Shatt al-Arab | Iran Iraq |
|
Abu Musa | Iran United Arab Emirates |
|
Greater and Lesser Tunbs | Iran United Arab Emirates |
|
Zirku Island, Sir Abu Nu’ayr[26] | Iran United Arab Emirates |
|
Nagorno-Karabakh region | Artsakh Armenia Azerbaijan |
Internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan,[27] de facto controlled by the Nagorno-Karabakh supported by Armenia. |
Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan | Pakistan India |
Administered by Pakistan and claimed by India. Part of the Kashmir conflict. |
Hatay Province | Turkey Syria |
Territory annexed by Turkey in 1939, ceded from Syria under the French Mandate of Syria; the annexation was never formally recognized by Syria after its independence. |
Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh | India Pakistan |
Part of the Kashmir conflict. Both India and Pakistan claim the former independent princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the Indo-Pakistani war of 1947. A UN-mediated ceasefire put a halt to the conflict in January 1949. The UN resolution called for both the countries to demilitarise the region, following which a plebiscite would be held. However, no demilitarisation plan acceptable to both the countries could be agreed. The countries fought two further wars in 1965 and 1971. Following the latter war, the countries reached the Simla Agreement, agreeing on a Line of Control between their respective regions and committing to a peaceful resolution of the dispute through bilateral negotiations. An armed insurgency broke out in 1989 in the Indian administered part of Kashmir, demanding "independence". Pakistan is believed to provide arms and training to the militants.[28][29][30][31] |
Ko Kut | Thailand Cambodia |
|
David Gareja monastery complex boundary dispute | Georgia Azerbaijan |
|
Doi Lang | Myanmar Thailand |
|
Fasht Ad Dibal and Qit'at Jaradah | 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 |
Kyrgyzstan: Barak is a tiny Kyrgyz village in the Fergana Valley region (where Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan meet). In August 1999, the area around Barak was occupied by Uzbekistan. Barak became a de facto enclave only 1.5 km from the shifted main border.[32][33][34] (Map) In August 2018 Kyrgyz and Uzbek authorities agreed to a land swap that would eliminate the exclave. The exchange process may take up to two years.[35] Tajikistan: There are three Tajik exclaves, all of them in the Fergana Valley. One of them, the village of Sarvan, is surrounded by Uzbek territory, whereas the remaining two, the village of Vorukh and a small settlement near the Kyrgyz railway station of Kairagach, are each surrounded by Kyrgyz territory. Uzbekistan: There are four Uzbek exclaves, all inside Kyrgyz territory in the Fergana Valley. Two of them are the towns of Sokh and Shakhimardan and the other two the tiny territories of Chon-Qora and Jani-Ayil. There may be a fifth Uzbek exclave inside of Kyrgyzstan.[36] Most of the border in the area is still not demarcated. |
Isfara Valley | Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan |
|
Ambalat | Indonesia Malaysia |
|
24-mile stretch of border at pass of the Kabaw[37] | India Myanmar |
India's government acknowledges that its border with Myanmar is not yet demarcated, but does not consider there to be a "dispute".[38] |
Golan Heights | Israel Lebanon (only claims Shebaa Farms) Syria |
Syrian territory captured by Israel in 1967 (the Six-Day War), and unilaterally annexed by Israel in 1981. In 2008, a plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly voted by 161–1 in favor of a motion on the "occupied Syrian Golan" that reaffirmed support for UN Resolution 497; United Nations, December 5, 2008). During the Syrian civil war period, Syrian Arab Republic had lost direct control of the Eastern Golan areas and retreated from cease-fire line with Israel (in favor of various rebel and Jihadist groups), though did regain the area in 2018. |
Israel within the Green Line | Israel Palestine |
See Israeli–Palestinian conflict |
West Bank and East Jerusalem | Israel
Palestine |
See Israeli occupation of the West Bank |
Gaza Strip | Palestine Israel |
See Blockade of the Gaza Strip |
Kalapani region, the smaller Susta River dispute and the smaller still Antudanda and Nawalparasi disputes | India Nepal |
Kalapani is administered by India while Susta is administered by Nepal. The few remaining border disagreements with Nepal since delineation was announced 98% complete in 2019.[39] See Territorial disputes of India and Nepal. |
Artsvashen exclave of Gegharkunik province, de jure part of Armenia; Karki exclave of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, Yukhari Askipara and Barkhudarli, both exclaves of Qazakh Rayon de jure part of Azerbaijan; "Yaradullu" is controlled by Azerbaijan along with occupying the much larger de jure Armenian territory surrounding it. | Armenia Azerbaijan |
Azerbaijan and Armenia have controlled these areas as part of the wider Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. |
Khuriya Muriya Islands | Oman Yemen |
|
Korean Peninsula north of the Military Demarcation Line | 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." |
Korean Peninsula south of the Military Demarcation Line | South Korea North 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." |
South Kuril Islands (Northern Territories)[1] | Russia Japan |
|
Dokdo/Takeshima | South Korea North Korea Japan |
Incorporated into Korea in 1900 but claimed by Japan in 1905. And occupied by South Korea since 1952. |
Certain islands in the Naf River | Bangladesh Myanmar |
|
Noktundo | Russia South Korea |
In 1990, the former Soviet Union and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) signed a border treaty which made the border run through the center of the Tumen river, leaving Noktundo in Russia. South Korea refused to acknowledge the treaty. |
"Pedra Branca"; several islets at the eastern entrance to the Singapore Strait | Singapore Malaysia |
The International Court of Justice rendered its decision on 23 May 2008 that sovereignty over Pedra Branca belongs to Singapore; sovereignty over Middle Rocks belongs to Malaysia. It said sovereignty over South Ledge would remain disputed until the states could determine the ownership of the territorial waters in which it is located.[40] |
"Point 20"; a small area of land reclaimed from the sea by Singapore | Singapore Malaysia |
Malaysia claims the land was reclaimed in its territorial waters. |
O'Tangav area (claimed as part of Stung Treng Province) | Laos Cambodia |
|
Part of Poipet commune | Thailand Cambodia |
|
Prachinburi area | Thailand Cambodia |
|
Area near Preah Vihear Temple (Khao Phra Wihan) | Thailand Cambodia |
Temple complex awarded to Cambodia by an International Court of Justice ruling in 1962; "promontory" measuring 0.3 km2 immediately adjacent to temple awarded to Cambodia by ICJ ruling in 2013; both countries acknowledge continuing dispute over an additional 4.3 km2 immediately northwest of the 2013 ruling's area. |
Qaruh and Umm al Maradim | Kuwait Saudi Arabia |
|
Part of Sabah (North Borneo) | Malaysia Philippines |
The Philippines retains a claim on the eastern part of Sabah (see North Borneo dispute) on the basis claimed by the Government of the Philippines that the territory is only leased by the former Sultanate of Sulu to British North Borneo Company, of which the Philippines argued that it should be the successor state of all Sulu past territories.[1] |
Saudi Arabia–United Arab Emirates border dispute | United Arab Emirates Saudi Arabia |
|
Siachen Glacier and Saltoro Ridge area | India Pakistan |
Controlled by India after Operation Meghdoot in 1984.[41] |
Sir Creek | India Pakistan |
A dispute over where in the estuary the line falls; only small areas of marsh land are disputed, but significant maritime territory is involved. It is divided mid-creek. |
Parts of Three Pagodas Pass | Myanmar Thailand |
|
The islands of Ukatnyy, Zhestky and Malyy Zhemchuzhnyy[42] | Russia Kazakhstan |
|
Ungar-Too (Ungar-Tepa) mountain[43][44] | Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan |
|
Vozrozhdeniya Island (now a peninsula) | Kazakhstan Uzbekistan |
|
Limbang District | Malaysia Brunei |
Limbang District was part of Brunei until it was forced to cede it to the Raj of Sarawak in 1890. Since then Brunei is divided territorially into two. It was claimed by Brunei in 1967 in order to reconnect the country. It forms the main part of the Brunei–Malaysia border#Disputes. Malaysia claimed to settle the issue in 2009, however this was disputed by Brunei. |
Europe
Territory | Claimants | Notes |
---|---|---|
Russia–Ukraine border | Russia Ukraine |
Since 2001 Russia delays an establishment of the border with Ukraine.[45] |
Tuzla Island and Strait of Kerch; Sarych | The conflict arose in 2003 when the Russian authorities started to build a dam towards the island. Ukraine then established a border garrison on the island for a closer surveillance. The reason for the conflict was the fact that Tuzla island's strategic location gave Ukraine full rights over the main channel in the Strait of Kerch and, thus, the access to the Sea of Azov. The conflict was based on the division of the Black Sea Fleet and a lease agreement of the Sevastopol Naval facilities. | |
Sea of Azov | ("Mutual jurisdiction")[46] On 25 November 2018 Russia blocked three Ukrainian Navy vessels from entering Sea of Azov.[47] | |
Crimea | In 2014, Russian forces occupied and annexed the Crimean peninsula, seizing it from Ukrainian territories. Russian claims to Crimea are not internationally recognized.[48] The United Nations, through General Assembly Resolution 68/262, affirmed that Crimea was part of Ukraine and that Russia's annexation is invalid.[49] Several nations imposed international sanctions on Russia in reaction to its action. | |
Aegean dispute, Imia/Kardak | Greece Turkey |
Broad number of delimitation disputes about a.o. national airspace, territorial waters and exclusive economic zones. Includes Imia/Kardak dispute. |
Mont Blanc summit dispute | France Italy |
France asserts that the principal peaks on the Mont Blanc massif—Dôme du Goûter, Punta Helbronner, and Mont Blanc lie in French territory, while Italy asserts that the summits are shared.[50] |
Carlingford Lough and Lough Foyle boundary dispute | Ireland United Kingdom |
Lough Foyle divides County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, and County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Carlingford Lough divides County Louth, Republic of Ireland, and County Down, Northern Ireland.[51][52] |
Gibraltar | United Kingdom Spain[1] |
Dispute over the interpretation of the Treaty of Utrecht and the location of the border. |
Rockall Island | Ireland United Kingdom Denmark Iceland |
Disputed uninhabited island in the North Atlantic Ocean.[53] |
Dollart bay | Germany Netherlands |
The exact course of the border through this bay is disputed,[54] yet the countries have agreed to disagree by signing a treaty in 1960.[55] |
Lake Constance | Germany Austria Switzerland |
Switzerland holds the view that the border runs through the middle of the lake. Austria is of the opinion that the contentious area belongs to all the states on its banks. |
Olivenza and Vila Real (including the municipality of Táliga) | Spain Portugal |
In 1801, during the War of the Oranges, Spain, with French military support, occupied the territory of Olivenza (in Portuguese Olivença). During the Treaty of Vienna (1815), the signatory powers (including Spain) agreed with the Portuguese arguments concerning its claim on Olivença but Spain never fulfilled its duty of giving the city of Olivença and its territory back to Portugal. |
Croatia-Serbia border dispute | Croatia Serbia |
Limited areas along the Danube Parts of Osijek-Baranja and Vukovar-Syrmia Counties and West and South Bačka Districts |
Island of Šarengrad | ||
Island of Vukovar | ||
Croatia-Slovenia border disputes | Slovenia Croatia |
|
Gulf of Piran | An agreement was signed (and ratified by Croatia's parliament on 20 November 2009) to pursue binding arbitration to both the land and maritime portions of this continuing dispute.
In 2015 collusion between the Slovenian judge on the arbitration panel and a representative from the Slovenian government was uncovered. The Croatian Sabor voted to withdraw from the arbitration, citing allegations of significant breaches of arbitration rules by Slovenia as the reason. Despite this the arbitration tribunal continued its work, issuing a ruling in 2017.[56] | |
Military complex near Sveta Gera | The complex is in the area of Žumberak/Gorjanci | |
Prevlaka | Croatia Montenegro |
|
Sastavci | Serbia Bosnia and Herzegovina |
|
Tip of the Klek peninsula, and the islands of Veliki Školj and Mali Školj (near Neum) | Croatia Bosnia and Herzegovina |
|
North America
Territory | Claimants | Notes |
---|---|---|
Aves Island | Venezuela Dominica |
Dominica abandoned the claim to the island in 2007, but continues to claim the adjacent seas, as do some neighboring states. |
Bajo Nuevo Bank | Colombia Nicaragua Jamaica United States |
Honduras has recognized the sovereignty of Colombia; other claimants have not. On November 19, 2012, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Colombia has sovereignty over Bajo Nuevo.[57] |
Southern half of Belize | Belize Guatemala |
Guatemala formerly claimed all of Belize. |
Conejo Island | Honduras El Salvador |
|
Navassa Island [1] | United States Haiti |
|
Sapodilla Cay | Belize Guatemala Honduras |
Guatemala formerly claimed all of Belize. |
Serranilla Bank | Colombia Honduras Nicaragua United States |
Jamaica has recognized the sovereignty of Colombia; other claimants have not. On November 19, 2012, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Colombia has sovereignty over Serranilla.[57] |
Oyster Pond | Netherlands France |
Claimed by both The Kingdom of the Netherlands (on behalf of Sint Maarten) and France.[58][59][60][61] |
Hans Island | Canada Denmark ( Greenland) |
Claimed by both Canada and the Kingdom of Denmark (on behalf of Greenland). |
Territory disputed between Canada and the United States
Territory | Canadian claimant | U.S. 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 |
Beaufort Sea | Northwest Territories, Yukon | Alaska |
Northwest Passage and some other Arctic waters | Canadian territorial waters | U.S. claims navigation rights |
Oceania
Territory | Claimants | Notes |
---|---|---|
Matthew and Hunter Islands[1] | Vanuatu France |
|
Minerva Reefs | Tonga Fiji |
Fiji claims that the entire reef is submerged at high tide, negating use of Minerva as a basis for any sovereignty or maritime EEZ claim by Tonga under the rules of UNCLOS. |
Swains Island[1] | United States Tokelau |
Tokelau's claim is unsupported by New Zealand, of whom Tokelau is a dependency. New Zealand formally recognises the USA's sovereignty over Swains Island.[62] |
Wake Island[1] | United States Marshall Islands |
South America
Territory | Claimants | Notes |
---|---|---|
Guayana Esequiba (Guyana west of the Essequibo River) and Ankoko Island/Isla de Anacoco | Guyana Venezuela |
Venezuela and Guyana have overlapping maritime area claims as well. Barbados and Guyana have since signed joint cooperation agreement over this area. |
Arroyo de la Invernada or Rincón de Artigas and Vila Albornoz | Brazil Uruguay |
Dispute in the 237 km2 (92 sq mi) Invernada River region near Masoller, over which tributary represents the legitimate source of the Quaraí River/Cuareim River (the UN does not officially recognize the claim) |
Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands [1] | United Kingdom Argentina |
Including Shag Rocks. See Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands sovereignty dispute |
French Guiana west of the Marouini River | France Suriname |
|
Tigri Area east of the Upper Courantyne River | Guyana Suriname |
The Tigri Area (Dutch: Tigri-gebied) is a wooded area that has been disputed since around 1840 by Suriname and Guyana. It involves the area between the Upper Corentyne River (also called New River), the Coeroeni River and the Kutari River. This triangular area is in Guyana known as the New River Triangle. In 1969 the conflict ran high on and since then the Tigri Area is controlled by Guyana and claimed by Suriname. In 1971 both governments in Trinidad agreed that they continue talks over the border issue and withdraw their military forces from the disputed Triangle. Guyana has never held upon this agreement. |
Isla Brasilera/Ilha Brasileira | Brazil Uruguay |
Uruguayan officials claim that the island falls under their Artigas Department (the UN does not officially recognize the claim) |
Isla Suárez/Ilha de Guajará-mirim | Bolivia Brazil |
An island in the river that serves as a border between Bolivia and Brazil, alongside others 80 island not assigned to any country, the island is closer to Bolivia but despite this, is economically dependent of the Brazilian city of Guajará-Mirim, both countries signed in 1958 a treaty that keep the island in a status quo |
Gulf of Venezuela and Los Monjes Archipelago surrounding waters | Colombia Venezuela |
Dispute regarding the undefined sea border between both countries.[63] |
Southern Patagonian Ice Field between Monte Fitz Roy and Cerro Murallón[64] |
Argentina Chile |
Parts of the border still officially undefined. |
Ongoing disputes involving states outside the UN
Territory | Claimants | Notes |
---|---|---|
Abkhazia | Republic of Abkhazia Georgia |
|
Village of Aibga and surrounding area[65][66] | Republic of Abkhazia Russia |
|
Aksai Chin | People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] India |
|
Bakassi | Cameroon Ambazonia Nigeria (elements) |
While Nigeria transferred Bakassi to Cameroon in 2008, elements within Nigeria have declared the territorial cession unconstitutional |
Eastern part of Bhutan | Bhutan People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] |
|
Bhutanese enclaves in Tibet, namely Cherkip Gompa, Dho, Dungmar, Gesur, Gezon, Itse Gompa, Khochar, Nyanri, Ringung, Sanmar, Darchen, Doklam, and Zuthulphuk | People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] Bhutan |
|
Demchok sector | India People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] |
|
Depsang Plains, Demchok sector, Chumar, Kaurik, Shipki La, Barahoti, Jadhang, Lapthal, Nelang, Pulam Sumda and Sang | India People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] |
Disputed areas located between Aksai Chin and Nepal. |
James Shoal | Malaysia People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] |
|
North Cyprus | Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Cyprus |
Northern Cyprus (a state with limited recognition) controls and administers the northern part of the island. Republic of Cyprus claims the whole island. |
Macclesfield Bank | People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] Philippines |
|
Mainland China, Hainan, and other areas controlled by the PRC | People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] |
|
Moldovan-controlled area of Dubăsari district | Moldova Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic |
|
Kokkina/Erenköy exclave | Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Cyprus |
Northern Cyprus controls and administers Kokkina, an area separated from the rest of the main land on Northern Cyprus via the land controlled by the Republic of Cyprus. |
Heixiazi / Bolshoy Ussuriysky Island (eastern half) |
Russia Republic of China[note 2] |
Generally held to have been resolved in October 2004 by the Complementary Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation on the Eastern Section of the China-Russia Boundary. However, the settlement is not recognized by the Republic of China.[note 2] |
Heixiazi / Bolshoy Ussuriysky Island (western half) |
People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] |
|
Hong Kong | People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] |
Former ROC president Lee Teng-hui claimed that Hong Kong should have been returned to the ROC instead of the PRC because the ROC government had the original manuscript of the Treaty of Nanking.[71] |
Northern part of Kachin State | Myanmar Republic of China[note 2] |
North part west of the Gaoligong Mountains (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 Republic of China[note 2] |
|
Kosovo | Republic of Kosovo Serbia |
Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, while Serbia claims it as part of its own sovereign territory. Its independence is recognized by 97 UN member states. |
Kula Kangri and mountainous areas to the west of this peak, plus the western Haa District of Bhutan | Bhutan People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] |
|
Kutuzov Island | Russia Republic of China[note 2] |
|
Macau | People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] |
Both the PRC and the ROC officially consider themselves to be the sole legitimate government over the entirety of China. |
Part of the EEZ generated by the Natuna Islands | People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] Indonesia |
The People's Republic of China claims the water off the Natuna Islands that fall under the nine-dash line claim are traditional Chinese fishing grounds. The Republic of China on Taiwan also claims the area.[72] |
Ladakh | India Pakistan |
Controlled by India, but Pakistan claims sovereignty as part of the Muslim populated state of Kashmir. |
Outer Mongolia | Mongolia Republic of China[note 1] |
The Republic of China briefly recognized Mongolia's independence between 1945 and 1952, and from 2002 onwards; however, under the Constitution of the Republic of China, the ROC claim on Mongolia cannot be withdrawn without recourse to a referendum. |
Pamir Mountains | Tajikistan People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1][note 2] |
The Tajik Government ceded 1,158 square kilometres (447 sq mi) to the PRC, while PRC relinquished its 28,000 square miles (73,000 km2) claim over the remaining territory with final ratification of a treaty in January 2011.[73][note 2] However, the settlement is not recognized by the Republic of China.[note 2] |
Paracel Islands[1] | People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] Vietnam |
Entirely controlled by the People's Republic of China but claimed by the Republic of China and Vietnam.[74] |
Part of the Ryanggang Province | North Korea South Korea Republic of China[note 2] |
|
Part of the Rasŏn administrative division | North Korea South Korea Republic of China[note 2] |
|
Scarborough Shoal | People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] Philippines |
Controlled by the PRC since the 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff. |
Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai or Diaoyu Dao)[1] | Japan People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] |
Controlled by Japan but claimed by the PRC and ROC.[75] |
Shaksgam Valley | People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] India |
Pakistan was originally a party to the dispute but relinquished its claim and accepted Chinese sovereignty over the area in 1963. |
Sixty-Four Villages East of the Heilongjiang River | Russia Republic of China[note 2] |
|
Republic of Somaliland | Somaliland Somalia |
|
South Ossetia | Republic of South Ossetia Georgia |
|
South Tibet | India People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] |
Controlled by India but claimed by the PRC and ROC who dispute the validity of the McMahon Line. |
Southern Cameroons | Cameroon Ambazonia |
|
Spratly Islands | People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] Vietnam Philippines (part) Malaysia (part) Brunei (part) |
Each of the claimant countries except Brunei controls one or more of the individual islands. |
'Border' checkpoint near Strovilia | United Kingdom Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus |
Northern Cyprus controls and administers the border checkpoint near Strovilia. 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, Kinmen, Matsu Islands, Pratas Island and the Vereker Banks |
Republic of China[76][note 1] People's Republic of China[77][note 1] |
The government of the People's Republic of China claims the entire island of Taiwan, as well as a number of minor islands, such as Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu, that are controlled by the Republic of China. See also: Anti-Secession Law, Legal status of Taiwan. |
Trans-Karakoram Tracts | People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1] India |
|
Transnistria (including Bendery) | Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic Moldova |
|
Tannu Tuva | Russia Republic of China[note 1] |
Originally part of China during the Qing dynasty but came under Russian influence in the 20th century. Sovereignty over the area has not been officially relinquished by the ROC. However, the claim is not actively pursued by the ROC government. |
Varnita and Copanca | Moldova Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic |
|
Western Sahara | Morocco Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic |
The United Nations keeps the Western Sahara in its list of Non-Self-Governing Territories and considers the sovereignty issue as unresolved pending a final solution. To that end, the UN sent a mission in the territory to oversee a referendum on self-determination in 1991, but it never happened. Administration was relinquished by Spain in 1976. |
Yalu River (disputed sovereignty of certain islands)[1][note 3] | People's Republic of China[note 1] North Korea Republic of China[note 1][note 2] South Korea |
Generally held to have been resolved in 2005. North Korea is allocated all of the large islands in the lower Yalu River, including Pidan and Sindo at the mouth.[78] The river's maritime rights remain shared between North Korea and the PRC. However, the settlement is not recognized by the Republic of China.[note 2] |
Ongoing disputes within a state by internal entities
Territory | Country | Internal claimants | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Several islands in the Paraná River | Argentina | Entre Ríos Santa Fe |
Islands: Isla de los Mástiles/La Carlota, Isla Ingeniero Sabino Corsi Norte/Sur and Isla General Juan Pistarini. |
Put Point | Mexico | Campeche Quintana Roo Yucatán |
The three states claim three different borders between them. |
Mount Kerinci | Indonesia | Jambi West Sumatra |
|
Belgaum | India | Karnataka Maharashtra |
|
As much as a 2,821 km2-wide area in and around the Ibiapaba mountain range | Brazil | Ceará Piauí |
This dispute originated in an 1880 imperial decree. In 1920 a solution to the dispute was arbitrated but in practice it was never carried out. In 2008 there were new attempted negotiations, but they broke down in 2011, and as of 2013 it is pending either a supreme court decision, a referendum or a possible mutual agreement.[79] |
Fernando de Noronha | Brazil | Pernambuco Rio Grande do Norte |
The dispute dates from the colonial period.[80] |
Disputed territories of Northern Iraq | Iraq | Iraq proper Iraqi Kurdistan |
Iraq's autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan claims and controls parts of the governorates of Nineveh, Arbil, Kirkuk and Diyala. |
Lubicon traditional territory between the Peace River and Athabasca River and north of Lesser Slave Lake | Canada | Alberta Lubicon Lake Indian Nation (Cree) |
Northern Alberta |
Southern edge of Labrador | Canada | Newfoundland and Labrador Quebec |
This was formerly an international dispute between Canada, which includes Quebec, and the Dominion of Newfoundland, then an independent country. Quebec has never accepted the border. |
Songling District and Jiagedaqi District | People's Republic of China | Inner Mongolia Heilongjiang |
The two districts are owned by Inner Mongolia, but Jiagedaqi District(urban) was established as capital of Daxinganling Prefecture, Heilongjiang Province, resulting it and adjacent Songling District under effective control of Heilongjiang Province. Hulunbuir City(Prefecture), Inner Mongolia actively disputes these two districts, as they formerly belongs to Oroqen Autonomous Banner, Hulunbuir. |
Belén de Bajirá | Colombia | Antioquia Chocó |
Disputed since 2000, both Departments of Antioquia and Chocó have claimed the corregimiento as part of their own respective municipalities. In 2014, amidst a rise of tensions between the claimants, the National Government under the Geographic Institute Agustín Codazzi formally started a process to find a solution for the dispute.[81] |
A wide section from the 35th parallel north to one mile south. | United States | Tennessee Georgia |
Due to an inaccurate measurement in 1818, Georgia claims the correct 35th latitude north, and does so in a chance of a drought, it would have access to the Tennessee River.[82] See Tennessee-Georgia water dispute. |
California-Oregon border, 51,000 acres straddling the 42nd parallel north |
United States | California Oregon |
Location errors in an 1868–1870 survey to demarcate the Oregon-California border created a dispute between Oregon and California, which upon statehood had established the 42nd parallel north as its de jure border, based on the 1819 Adams–Onís Treaty between the U.S. and Spain. The dispute continues to this day, as Oregon has about 31,000 acres of California, while California has about 20,000 acres of Oregon.[83] The border should follow the 42nd parallel straight west from the 120th meridian west to the Pacific. Instead it zigzags, and only one of the many surveyor's markers put down in 1868 actually is on the 42nd parallel.[84][85][86] |
New Mexico-Texas Panhandle border | United States | Texas New Mexico |
The border was defined as the 103rd meridian but an 1859 survey marked it too far west, mistakenly putting present-day towns of Farwell, Texline, and a part of Glenrio in Texas. New Mexico's draft constitution used the 103rd meridian as intended. The New Mexico Senate passed a bill to file a lawsuit to recover the strip, but it has not become law.[87] The land and towns are administered by Texas. |
Parts of Fort Bonifacio | Philippines | Makati Taguig Pateros |
Disputed since 1983. Taguig claims more than 729 hectares of land in Fort Bonifacio, an area administered by Makati. On August 5, 2013, the Court of Appeals Sixth Division ruled that Makati has legal jurisdiction over the area, thus invalidating Taguig's claim.[88] Taguig has not abandoned its claims and will petition the Court of Appeals to have the decision revoked.[89] Pateros also claims the area and has filed a petition before the Taguig Regional Court Branch 271 in 2012 concerning its claim. Pateros reiterated its claims in 2013 following the decision of the Court of Appeals awarding Makati jurisdiction over the area.[90][91] |
Fiat Auto Poland factory and nearest areas | Poland | Tychy Bieruń |
The territory has historically been a part of the town of Bieruń. In years 1975–1991 Bieruń was a part of Tychy. The Fiat Auto Poland (formerly FSM factory) remaining in Tychy was a condition of Bieruń's separation. In the 90s, Bieruń has regained the Homera osiedle which was part of the disputed area.[92] |
Prigorodny District, North Ossetia–Alania | Russia | North Ossetia–Alania Ingushetia |
|
Phuldungsei | India | Mizoram Tripura |
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 prevents new territorial claims of all signatories (except the U.S. and Russia) 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).
Territory | Claimants | Antarctic territory |
---|---|---|
Area between 25°W and 53°W | United Kingdom Argentina |
British Antarctic Territory Argentine Antarctica |
Area between 53°W and 74°W | United Kingdom Argentina Chile |
British Antarctic Territory Argentine Antarctica Antártica Chilena Province |
Area between 74°W and 80°W | United Kingdom Chile |
British Antarctic Territory Antártica Chilena Province |
Historical disputes, subsequently settled
Africa
Territory | Former claimants | Dispute started | Dispute settled | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Agacher Strip | Burkina Faso Mali |
c. 1960 | 1986 | Following repeated military clashes between Burkina Faso and Mali over the Agacher Strip, the International Court of Justice resolved the conflict in 1986 by dividing the disputed area approximately equally between the two countries.[93] |
Aouzou Strip | Chad Libya |
c. 1973 | 1994 | In 1994 the International Court of Justice decision found in favour of Chad sovereignty over the Aouzou strip, and ended the Libyan claim. |
Badme | Ethiopia Eritrea |
1993 | 2018 | Basis of the Eritrean-Ethiopian War which began in 1998. The territory was handed over to Eritrea following a joint statement at the Eritrea–Ethiopia summit in 2018. |
Bakassi | Cameroon Nigeria |
1913 | 2006 | This area was handed over by Nigeria to Cameroon following an International Court of Justice ruling and the Greentree Agreement. |
Bure | Ethiopia Eritrea[94] |
2002 | 2008 | Eritrea has accepted the decision and no longer disputes this location.[95] |
Burkina Faso–Niger border dispute | Burkina Faso Niger |
c. 1960 | 2013 | The International Court of Justice redefined the border between Burkina Faso and Niger in 2013. In 2015 the ruling was implemented by exchanging 18 towns between the two countries.[96] |
Part of the Kahemba region | Angola Democratic Republic of Congo |
2007 | Following a March 2007 report on the disputed area on the joint border in the Kahemba region, the Congolese interior minister admitted the territory was in fact part of Angola and agreed to send a technical team to demarcate the border along colonial era lines.[97] The countries agreed to end the dispute in July 2007.[98] | |
Lété Island and nearby islands in the Niger River | Niger Benin |
c. 1960 | 2005 | In 2005 the International Court of Justice awarded Lété and 15 of the other disputed islands to Niger, and the remaining nine islands to Benin.[99] |
Sedudu | Botswana Namibia |
1890 | 1999 | In 1999 the International Court of Justice awarded Sedudu to Botswana, ending the Namibian claim.[100] |
Tsorona-Zalambessa | Ethiopia Eritrea[94] |
2002 | 2008 | Eritrea has accepted the decision and no longer disputes this location.[95] |
Yenga (border hamlet), and left bank of the Makona and Moa rivers | Sierra Leone Guinea |
c. 1995 | 2013 | The two heads of state settled this dispute in 2013.[101] |
Americas
Territory | Former claimants | Dispute started | Dispute settled | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alaska boundary dispute | United States Canada |
1821 | 1903 | Disputed between the United States and Canada (then a British Dominion with its foreign affairs controlled from London). The dispute had been going on between the Russian and British Empires since 1821, and was inherited by the United States as a consequence of the Alaska Purchase in 1867. It was resolved by arbitration in 1903 with a delegation that included 3 Americans, 2 Canadians, and 1 British delegate that became the swing vote. By a 4 to 2 vote, the final resolution favored the American position. Canada did not get an outlet from the Yukon gold fields to the sea. The disappointment and anger in Canada was directed less at the United States, and more at the British government for betraying Canadian interests in pursuit of a friendly relationship between Britain and the United States. |
Aroostook War | United States British North America |
1838 | 1842 | Disputed border between the state of Maine and the provinces of New Brunswick and Lower Canada. |
Atacama border dispute | Bolivia Chile |
1879 | 1904 | |
Guaíra Falls | Brazil Paraguay |
1872 | 1980 | The disputed islands were submerged by the reservoir of Itaipú. |
Chamizal dispute | United States Mexico |
1898 | 1963 | Disputed border within the El Paso/Ciudad Juárez region. |
Cresap's War | Maryland Pennsylvania |
1730 | 1767 | Dispute over the northern border of the Province of Maryland and southern border of Province of Pennsylvania, particularly west of the Susquehanna River. Settled by the drawing of the Mason–Dixon line. |
New Hampshire Grants/Vermont | New Hampshire | 1749 | 1791 | In 1664 King Charles II decided the west bank of the Connecticut River was the eastern boundary of New York, so that that province included all of what later became the state of Vermont. During 1749–64, Governor Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire issued well over a hundred "grants", offering lands for sale west of the river in what would become Vermont. In 1764, King George III attempted to end the dispute by ruling that the region belonged to New York. But New York would not recognize the property claims of numerous settlers whose claims were based on Wentworth's grants, so local governments and militias resisted New York's rule. In 1777, the politicians of the disputed territory declared it independent of New York, Britain, and New Hampshire, calling it the State of Vermont. Vermont existed for 14 years as an unrecognized de facto independent country, considered by New York to be a district in rebellion. Negotiations between New York and Vermont in 1790 removed impediments to Vermont's admission to the Union in 1791. |
Delaware Wedge | Delaware Maryland Pennsylvania |
1750s | 1921 | A gore created when the borders of the colonies Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania were defined. Dispute over the borders between the three colonies dates to the foundation of each during the middle 17th century. A series of defined lines and arcs were laid out by statute to settle the disputes, the most famous of which was the Mason–Dixon line. The Wedge was left out of all three colonies (and later U.S. states), and remained a matter of dispute until it was formally resolved to assign the Wedge to Delaware in 1921. |
Eastern shore of the Narragansett Bay | Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Plymouth Colony (to 1691) Province of Massachusetts Bay (from 1691) |
1636 | 1898 | Claimed by both Rhode Island and Plymouth Colony. Plymouth's claim was inherited by the newly created Province of Massachusetts Bay when the latter was created in 1691 from the merger of earlier Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth Colonies. A royal decree in 1746 assigned the land to Rhode Island, but Massachusetts continued to press its claim until 1898. |
New York – New Jersey Line War | New York New Jersey |
1701 | 1756 | Dispute over the southern border of Province of New York and the northern border of the Province of New Jersey. Raiding parties kidnapped and burned crops. |
Isla Martín García | Argentina Uruguay |
1879 | 1973 | After the Conquest of the Desert was formally launched in 1879, many indigenous leaders captured were confined there. The island was transferred to Argentine Navy jurisdiction in 1886. The island's distance from the Uruguayan territory is less than two miles, and its jurisdictional status was formally established by the Treaty of Río de la Plata between Uruguay and Argentina on November 19, 1973. |
Cordillera del Cóndor-Cenepa River | Peru Ecuador |
1828 | 1998 | |
Cordillera of the Andes Boundary Case | Argentina Chile |
1881 | 1902 | After the signature of the Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina differing interpretations on whether the highest Andean peaks (favouring Argentina) or the continental divide (favouring Chile) was to be considered the boundary. |
Puna de Atacama dispute | Argentina Chile |
1889 | 1898 | |
Clipperton Island | Mexico France |
1897 | 1931 | Disputed between France and Mexico. On January 28, 1931, King Victor Emanuel, selected as a neutral arbitrator, finally declared Clipperton to be a French possession, and it has remained relatively undisputed ever since. |
Beagle conflict | Argentina Chile |
1898 | 1982 | |
Río Encuentro-Alto Palena dispute | Argentina Chile |
1913 | 1966 | |
Laguna del Desierto | Argentina Chile |
1949 | 1994 | |
Missouri | United States Confederate States |
1861 | 1865 | After the Missouri secession, the State of Missouri was claimed by both the United States and Confederate States until the defeat of the Confederacy in the American Civil War |
Border of New Hampshire and Canada | United States United Kingdom |
1783 | 1842 | Ill-defined terms of the Treaty of Paris at the end of the Revolutionary War left the boundary of the state of New Hampshire and Canada in doubt. The lack of a precise definition of the "northwesternmost head of the Connecticut River" as defined by the Treaty of Paris left the land that is now the town of Pittsburg, New Hampshire within the conflicting jurisdiction of both the United States and Great Britain. In 1832 residents of the area established the short-lived Republic of Indian Stream in the area; the minuscule population of the putative nation never exceeded about 300. The boundary was finally settled definitively by the Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842. |
Sverdrup Islands | Norway United Kingdom |
1928 | 1930 | In 1928 Norway asserted its claim of sovereignty over the Sverdrup Islands. The islands are named after Norwegian explorer Otto Sverdrup, who explored and mapped them from 1898 to 1902 with the vessel Fram, although some were previously inhabited by Inuit people. Sverdrup claimed the islands for Norway, but the Norwegian government did not pursue the claim until 1928. At that point, the Norwegian government raised the claim, primarily to use the islands as bargaining chips in negotiations with the United Kingdom over the status of the Arctic island Jan Mayen and the Antarctic Bouvet Island. On November 11, 1930, Norway ceded the Sverdrup Islands to Canada, in exchange for British recognition of Norway's sovereignty over Jan Mayen.[102] |
San Andrés and Providencia | Colombia Nicaragua |
1928 | 2012[103] | |
Tacna–Arica compromise | Chile Peru |
1883 | 1929 | |
Pacific Ocean Sea border | Chile Peru |
1985 | 2014[104] | |
Erik the Red's Land | Denmark Norway |
1931 | 1933[105] | |
Isla Portillos | Costa Rica Nicaragua |
2010 | 2018 | On 2 Feb 2018, the ICJ rendered a decision in a border dispute between Nicaragua and Costa Rica regarding Isla Portillos. Nicaragua was left with just the Laguna Los Portillos and its short strip of beach. The court also decided that the sea just outside of the lagoon would be Costa Rican waters. The ICJ concluded that the whole beach is Costa Rican except for the part directly between the lagoon and the Caribbean Sea – now a tiny enclave of Nicaraguan territory separated from the rest of the country.[106] |
Antarctica
Territory | Former Claimants | Dispute Started | Dispute Settled | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bouvet Island | Norway United Kingdom |
1927 | 1929 | The United Kingdom claimed this Antarctic island as Lindsay/Liverpool Island based on sightings going back to 1808, but Norway landed there in 1927. In November 1929, Britain renounced its claim to the island.[107] |
Asia
Territory | Former claimants | Dispute started | Dispute settled | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tiran and Sanafir Islands | Saudi Arabia Egypt |
1906 | 2017 | These islands were transferred to Saudi Arabia in 2017. |
Arabi Island and Farsi Island | Iran Saudi Arabia |
1968 | These islands were disputed between Iran and Saudi Arabia. In 1968 Iran and Saudi Arabia had an agreement that Farsi island be given to Iran and Arabi island be given to Saudi Arabia. | |
Bay of Bengal Maritime Boundary between Bangladesh and India | India Bangladesh |
1974 | 2014 | India and Bangladesh had engaged in eight rounds of bilateral negotiations starting 1974 but it remained inconclusive until 2009. In October 2009, Bangladesh served India with notice of arbitration proceedings under the UNCLOS .
The Arbitration Tribunal delivered the ruling on 7 July 2014 and settled the dispute. |
Indo-Bangladesh enclaves, adverse possessions and undemarcated land boundaries | India Bangladesh |
1947 | 2015 | Following Partition of Bengal (1947), the issues of adverse possessions, enclaves and unmarked boundary arose. Inside the main part of Bangladesh, there were 111 Indian enclaves (17,160.63 acres), while inside the main part of India, there were 51 Bangladeshi enclaves (7,110.02 acres). In 1974 Bangladesh approved a proposed treaty, Land Boundary Agreement, to exchange all enclaves within each other's territories, but India did not ratify it. Another agreement was agreed upon in 2011 to exchange enclaves and adverse possessions. With respect to adverse possessions, India received 2,777.038 acres of land and transferred 2,267.682 acres to Bangladesh. India ratified the agreement by constitutional amendment in May 2015.[108] |
Muhurichar river island | India Bangladesh |
1974 | 2011 | Historically controlled by India but claimed by Bangladesh, disputed from approximately 1974.[109] An agreement was reached on the demarcation of the border in the area in 2011,[110] and in 2019 the Indian government confirmed that it no longer had any outstanding boundary dispute with Bangladesh.[38] |
South Talpatti/New Moore/Purbasha Island | India Bangladesh |
c. 1975 | 2010 | This former dispute over a small island never more than two meters above sea level was contested from the island's appearance in the 1970s to its disappearance, likely due to climate change,[111] in the first decade of the 2000s. Though land disputes no longer exist, the maritime boundary was not settled until 2014.[112][113][114][115] |
Sakhalin Island | Russian Empire Empire of Japan |
1845 | 1875 | Japan unilaterally proclaimed sovereignty over the whole island in 1845, but its claims were ignored by the Russian Empire. The 1855 Treaty of Shimoda acknowledged that both Russia and Japan had joint rights of occupation to Sakhalin, without setting a definite territorial demarcation. As the island became settled in the 1860s and 1870s, this ambiguity led to increasing friction between settlers. Attempts by the Tokugawa shogunate to purchase the entire island from the Russian Empire failed, and the new Meiji government was unable to negotiate a partition of the island into separate territories.
In 1875 by the Treaty of Saint Petersburg, Japan agreed to give up its claims on Sakhalin in exchange for undisputed ownership of the Kuril Islands. In 1905 under the Treaty of Portsmouth Japan gained Sakhalin to the 60th parallel, but lost it again in 1945. |
Palmas Island (modern-day Miangas Island) | Philippine Islands Dutch East Indies |
1906 | 1928 | Dispute between the United States and the Netherlands over the Palmas island located south of the Philippines, which was then American territory. The Netherlands believed that the islands were part of the Dutch East Indies. The territorial dispute was solved through the Island of Palmas case which decided that the Palmas Island belongs to the Netherlands. Palmas Island, now Miangas Island, is a part of modern Indonesia. |
Shaksgam Valley | Pakistan (still claimed by: India People's Republic of China[note 1] Republic of China[note 1]) |
1947 | 1963 | Pakistan relinquished its claim to the People's Republic of China; India did not. |
Sinai Peninsula | Israel Egypt |
1967 | 1982 | During the Six-Day War Israel claimed Sinai. It was returned in 1982 under the terms of the 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty. |
Taba | Israel Egypt |
1979 | 1989 | When Egypt and Israel were negotiating the exact position of the border in preparation for the 1979 peace treaty, Israel claimed that Taba had been on the Ottoman side of a border agreed between the Ottomans and British Egypt in 1906 and had, therefore, been in error in its two previous agreements. Although most of Sinai was returned to Egypt in 1982, Taba was the last portion to be returned. The issue was submitted to an international commission. In 1988, the commission ruled in Egypt's favour, and Israel returned Taba to Egypt in 1989. |
Phú Quốc island and Thổ Chu Islands area | Vietnam Cambodia |
1982 | In 1939, Governor General of Indochina, Jules Brévié, sent a letter to the Governor of Cochinchina about “the issue of the islands in the Gulf of Siam whose is a matter of controversy between Cambodia and Cochin-China”. In this letter,“for administrative purposes”, he drew a line which defined the border between the waters of Cambodia and Cochin-China: all the islands north of the line are under Cambodian sovereignty, all the islands south of the line are ruled by Cochin-China. As a result, Phú Quốc was under Cochinchina administration. In 1949, Cochin-China became part of Vietnam, an Associated State in the French Union within the Indochinese Federation. After the Geneva Accords, in 1954, its sovereignty was handed over to the State of Vietnam. In 1964, then Head of State Prince Norodom Sihanouk proposed to the Vietnamese a map aimed at settling the issue. Cambodia offered to accept the colonial “Brévié Line” as the maritime boundary, thus abandoning its claim. That position of Cambodia was confirmed by maps given to the mission sent by the UN Security Council after the Chantrea incidents. On June 8, 1967, the Vietnamese issued a declaration that accepted the “Brévié Line” as the maritime border. On May 1, 1975, a squad of Khmer Rouge soldiers raided and took Phú Quốc, but Vietnam soon recaptured it. This was to be the first of a series of incursions and counter-incursions that would escalate to the Cambodian–Vietnamese War in 1979. Cambodia dropped its claims to Phú Quốc in 1976.[116] But the bone of contention involving the island between the governments of the two countries continued, as both have a historical claim to it and the surrounding waters. A July 1982 agreement between Vietnam and The People's Republic of Kampuchea ostensibly settled the dispute; however, it is still the object of irredentist sentiments. | |
Turtle Islands | Philippine Islands North Borneo |
1930 | Dispute between the United States and the United Kingdom over the Turtle Islands located south of the Philippines, which was then American territory. In a 1930 treaty the United Kingdom acknowledge American sovereignty over the islands and was agreed upon that the British would remain administering the island until the United States express interest to take over control over the islands after a one-year notice. When the Philippines gained full independence from the United States in 1946, the Philippines invoked the treaty and the British turned over the islands to the Philippines in 1947. | |
West Bank, including East Jerusalem | Israel Jordan |
1967 | 1988 | During the Six-Day War Israel conquered these territories from Jordan. Jordan later renounced the claim on the territory, supporting instead its inclusion in a future Palestine. |
Ligitan and Sipadan | Malaysia Indonesia |
1969 | 2002 | 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. |
Hawar Islands | Qatar Bahrain |
1971 | 2001 | Formerly disputed between Qatar and Bahrain, it was settled by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. In the June 2001 decision, Bahrain kept the Hawar Islands and Qit'at Jaradah but dropped claims to Janan Island and Zubarah on mainland Qatar, while Qatar retained significant maritime areas and their resources. The agreement has furthered the goal of definitively establishing the border with Saudi Arabia and Saudi-led mediation efforts continue. |
Batek Island | Indonesia East Timor |
2002 | 2004 | Ceded by Timor-Leste to Indonesia in August 2004. |
Saudi Arabia–Yemen border demarcation dispute | Saudi Arabia Yemen |
1934 | 2000 | Settled by the Treaty of Jeddah (2000). |
Europe
Territory | Former claimants | Dispute started | Dispute settled | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Baltic Sea | Poland Denmark |
1978 | 2018 | Poland has decided to cede to Denmark 80 percent of disputed territory[117] |
Bregovo | Bulgaria Kingdom of Serbia |
1885 | 1886 | Bulgaria and Serbia briefly had a war over a small border village called Bregovo and this has been the recognized border ever since then. |
Åland Islands | Finland Sweden |
1917 | 1920 | Sweden and Finland argued over the control of the Åland Islands (located between Sweden and Finland). The Åland movement (Ålandsrörelsen) wanted Åland to reunite with its old mother country Sweden (Finland and Åland belonged to Sweden before 1809). The movement gathered signatures from over 7000 inhabitants of legal age at the Åland Islands in 1917 (that was about 96% of the population) - they all supported a union with Sweden. When Finland became independent (December 6, 1917) Sweden wanted a plebiscite about the future of the Åland Islands to solve the problem. Finland refused and argued that the Åland Islands had always been a natural part of Finland - even when Finland was under Swedish rule. Sweden appealed to the League of Nations referring to the right of the population to determine which country they should belong to. After studying the matter closely the League of Nations decided Finland should retain sovereignty over the province but that the Åland Islands should be made an autonomous territory. The Swedish Prime Minister said he didn't accept the verdict but he also said that Sweden was not going to use military force to get their claims.[118] |
Graham Island | Two Sicilies Malta France Spain |
1831 | 1831 | A dispute between the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the British Crown Colony of Malta, the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of Spain occurred after the volcanic island appeared in 1831. The British were the first to claim the island as part of Malta, and they were followed by the Two Sicilies and France, while Spain expressed their ambitions to control the island. The island disappeared by December 1831 and the dispute stopped. A Sicilian flag was lowered over the now submerged island in 2000 to show Italian claims to the area. It is no longer disputed by Britain, France, Spain or Malta. |
Lampedusa | Sicily Malta |
1800 | 1814 | The island was controlled by British troops as a de facto part of the Malta Protectorate from 1800 onwards. After a British royal commission was sent there in 1812, the new Governor of Malta Sir Thomas Maitland withdrew British troops and the island was returned to Sicily. |
Tenedos | Turkey Greece |
1920 | 1923 | On 11 August 1920, following World War I, the Treaty of Sèvres with the defeated Ottoman Empire granted the island to Greece, who joined the war in Allies' side in May 1917. The new Turkish Government of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, based in Ankara, which was not party to the treaty, overthrew the Ottoman government, which signed but did not ratify the treaty. After the Turkish War of Independence ended in Greek defeat in Anatolia, and the fall of David Lloyd George and his Middle Eastern policies after the Carlton Club meeting, the western powers agreed to the Treaty of Lausanne with the new Turkish Republic, in 1923. This treaty made Tenedos and Imbros part of Turkey, and it guaranteed a special autonomous administrative status there to accommodate the Greeks. |
Northern Ireland | United Kingdom Ireland |
1920 | 1998 | Formerly disputed between Ireland and the United Kingdom since partition on 23 December 1920, it was settled by the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, when Ireland amended its constitutional claim. Both countries acknowledged that the territory can join the rest of Ireland if separate referendums in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland approve of the former's cession. |
Pytalovo (Abrene in Latvia) | Russia Latvia |
1991 | 2007 | Pytalovo was a village in the parish of Vyshgorogok, the westernmost part of the Ostrov uyezd, Governorate of Pskov that was ceded from RSFSR to Latvia under the Treaty of Riga (1920) along with parishes of Kachanovo and Tonkovo. In 1940 Latvian Republic was annexed by the Soviet Union and Latvian SSR was established, encompassing the above named territories until 1944 when they were transferred to the district of Ostrov, Pskov Oblast, RSFSR.[119] Since 1991 reestablished Republic of Latvia disputed Russian jurisdiction over the region until the border treaty with Russia was signed in 2007.[120] |
Ivangorod, Izborsk and Pechorsky District | Russia Estonia |
1991 | 2007 | As of 1916, Ivangorod, the eastern suburb of Narva, constituted the westernmost town of the St.Petersburg Governorate on the border with the Governorate of Estonia. The towns of Pechory and Izborsk with respective parishes were the westernmost parts of the Governorate of Pskov. Under the Treaty of Tartu, 1920 the above territories were ceded from RSFSR to the newly established Republic of Estonia that was annexed by the USSR in 1940 as the Estonian SSR. In 1944 with two decrees of the USSR supreme Council the city of Narva and vicinity was split along Narova river leaving Narva with Estonia and Ivangorod with the Leningrad oblast. Pechory, Izborsk and Panikovichi with respective parishes as well as certain areas of Slobodskaya parish were transferred to the Pskov Oblast. Exception was made for some rural areas of the borderland populated by ethnic Estonians leaving these with Estonian SSR.[119] After the fall of the Soviet Union this caused a territorial dispute that was resolved by the Russian-Estonian Border Treaty.[121][122] Some sources argue Estonia might have claims in the area.[123][124] |
Sevastopol | Russia Ukraine |
1993 | 1997 | On July 28, 1993, one of the leaders of the Russian Society of Crimea, Viktor Prusakov, stated that his organisation was ready for an armed mutiny and establishment of the Russian administration in Sevastopol. In May 1997, Russia and Ukraine signed the Peace and Friendship Treaty, ruling out Moscow's territorial claims to Ukraine.[125] However, the dispute would be revived after the Russian military intervention in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea in 2014. |
Black Sea and Snake Island | Ukraine Romania |
2004 | 2009 | In 2004 Romania filed a case to International Court of Justice claiming that Ukraine's Snake Island was an uninhabitable rock under UNCLOS standards and thus not eligible to carry influence over determination of the maritime boundary between the two states. During the Soviet times the island was a small naval station with a lighthouse. In 2007 the Ukrainian parliament approved an establishment of a small hamlet (settlement) there, Bile, as part of Vylkove city Odessa Region. The maritime boundary issue was settled by the International Court of Justice in 2009. |
Vilnius Region | Lithuania Poland |
1920 | 1945 | During the Polish-Soviet War Polish armies entered the Vilnius Region which was at the time part of the Soviet Lithuanian-Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1920, Polish General Lucjan Zeligowski led a coup and established the Republic of Central Lithuania which was annexed to the Second Polish Republic after the war as part of the historic Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and due to ethnic Poles in the region. Lithuania moved its capital to Kaunas while never giving up its claim to Vilnius. The Lithuanians found support in the Soviet Union for their cause signing the Soviet-Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty in 1939. Following the Soviet invasion of Poland, the region came under Soviet control and became part of the Lithuanian SSR after World War II which was followed by a large number of ethnic Poles being deported two times. Following the fall of the Soviet Union and Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania the Vilnius region became part of Lithuania again. |
Passetto di Borgo in the vicinity of the Vatican City | Italy Holy See |
1870 | 1991 | Pope John Paul II recognized the sovereignty of Italy over the Passetto on May 18, 1991.[126][127] |
Notes
- Since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the de facto territories of the Republic of China (ROC) are limited to the Taiwan Area.[67][68] Meanwhile, the People's Republic of China (PRC) controls mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.[67] Officially, both the ROC and the PRC claim de jure sovereignty over all of China (including Taiwan), and regard the other government as being in rebellion.[67][69][70] In Taiwan, the ROC's constitutional claim is supported by the Pan-Blue Coalition led by the Kuomintang, while the Pan-Green Coalition led by the Democratic Progressive Party favors Taiwanese independence and does not actively pursue the claim.
- Relinquished by the People's Republic of China (PRC) but is still officially claimed by the Republic of China (ROC). Officially, both the PRC and the ROC claim de jure sovereignty over all of China (including Taiwan), and regard the other government as being in rebellion.[67][69][70] Therefore, the ROC does not recognize any territorial dispute settlement entered into by the PRC.
- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) do not recognize each other.
See also
- Demilitarized zone
- Dependent territory
- Frozen conflict
- List of border conflicts
- List of countries and territories by land and maritime borders
- List of sovereign states
- Lists of active separatist movements
- Neutral territory
- List of administrative divisions by country
- Territorial claims in the Arctic
- Territorial disputes in the Persian Gulf
- List of internal boundary disputes in the Philippines
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