FX.co ★ World's most disputed territories

South Tibet

South Tibet or Tawang has become a stumbling block in China-India relations. The countries have been disputing over this territory for many years. Tawang has a strategic value. It is a center of Tibetan Buddhism and has close cultural, linguistic and ethnic connections with Tibet.

The territory is located in the northwest of the modern northeastern state Arunachal Pradesh in India. However, China claims it as part of Nyingchi and Shannan prefecture-level cities in the southeastern Tibet Autonomous Region. The polemic over territorial allegiance started with the McMahon Line drawn between China and India in 1914.

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is an overseas territory of 7 square kilometers located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. At all times the territory has been of significant importance, and its value only increased when the Suez Canal opened in 1869. Spain and the UK have been arguing over the official status of Gibraltar for centuries. Numerous peace treaties signed by the two countries have not improved the situation. Spanish authorities occasionally close their consulate and restrict movement between Gibraltar and Spain. Moreover, they announce an economic blockade of Gibraltar.

In the middle of the 20th century, Queen Elizabeth II granted Gibraltar an autonomy and allowed to pass a Constitution. In a 1967 referendum, Gibraltarians decided to remain under British sovereignty. Nowadays, there is a NATO naval base in Gibraltar.

Hala'ib Triangle

Hala'ib Triangle is located on the Egyptian–Sudanese border and occupies 20,580 square kilometers. This territory on the 22nd parallel has substantial value because of extensive oil reserves concentrated in the area. Most of the Gabal Elba National Park is situated in the Hala'ib Triangle.

The conflict between Cairo and Khartoum erupted when Cairo transferred two islands to Riyad. Moreover, at the beginning of 2019, Egypt announced an international tender for the exploration and production of oil and gas in the areas of Halayeb and Shalateen. Then, the Foreign Ministry of Sudan handed a note of protest to the ambassador of Egypt in Khartoum.

Hala'ib is closely connected with another African territory, Bir Tawil. However, neither Egypt nor Sudan are interested in the area. This is an uninhabited territory with no fresh water. On the map, Bir Tawil has an inverted quadrilateral shape.

Golan Heights

The Golan Heights is a volcanic plato spanning about 1.8 thousand square kilometers. It is located in the south of Syria and the north of Israel at a height of 1,000 meters above the sea. Since Israel occupied Syria in 1967, the international community has not recognized the sovereignty of Israel in the Golan Heights territory.

In addition to its strategic military importance, the Golan Heights is an important source of drinking water for Israeli. There are few nature reserves on the territory of plato and its soil is remarkably fertile. Moreover, in 2015, a new oil deposit containing over 1 billion barrels was discovered in the area.

Currently, the Golan Heights includes territories under Syrian control, lands occupied by Israel and the UN Disengagement Observer Force camp which keeps track of the number of armed forces allowed in the region.

East Jerusalem

East Jerusalem has been occupied by Israel since 1967. Subsequent UN Security Council resolutions have not had any impact on a possible reconciliation between Israel and Palestine.

There are holy places, such as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Temple Mount, Al-Aqsa Mosque on the territories occupied by Israeli. Therefore, any careless statement made by foreign politicians leads to the escalation of tension in the region.

Taiwan

Taiwan along with a number of adjacent islands has been controlled by China. However, there were times when the island was occupied by Japan, the Netherlands, and Spain. The conflict started in the 40s of the 20th century. Back then, Chiang Kai-shek ruled the island. After the Civil War, he became so powerful that could compare himself with Mao Zedong.

On the one hand, Taiwan is a part of the Republic of China. However, the state is not officially recognized. On the other hand, Taiwan is a province of the People's Republic of China even though it was never under the PRC’s control.

South Sudan

Even landlocked countries sometimes become disputed territories. Thus, South Sudan, which became an independent state in 2011, continues to squabble with Sudan over the large oil reserves in the Abyei Area.

Moreover, religious conflict is another reason for the separation of the formerly united state. While the population of northern Sudan is predominantly Arabs and Africans, who profess Islam, the southerners practice traditional African religions.

Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands are not only an important navigation point in the Strait of Magellan and Cape Horn but also a source of 60 billion barrels of oil and 9 trillion cubic meters of natural gas. British oil companies have been exploring and producing oil from the Ocean Guardian, a semi-submersible drilling rig, since February 2010. Thereafter, a new round of tension in relations between London and Buenos Aires began.

The Falkland Islands citizens decided to remain residents of British Overseas Territories despite the long distance of the archipelago from the United Kingdom.

However, referendum results were not enough for Argentina as it continues to challenge UK sovereignty in the Malvinas Islands (Spanish for the Falkland Islands).

Kuril Islands

The Kuril Islands dispute between Russia and Japan dates back to the end of World War II. The disagreement remains unsettled to this date causing tension in the Asia Pacific region. However, for the last few years, it was displaced by the Crimea conflict.

By the end of March 2019, Moscow held another round of peace talks with Japan which showed that tensions between Moscow and Tokyo were on a sore point.

Russian officials emphasized several times that they did not consider the issue of the border with Japan as a territorial dispute. Whereas, Japan is trying to find an opportunity to remind Russia about its interests. Thus, the negotiations on the matter took place at the G20 Summit held in Japan in June 2019.

Senkaku Islands

The dispute over the Senkaku Islands between China and Japan began in the 1970th when a great number of mineral resources were found on their territory. Recently, Taiwan has also claimed the islands.

Japan incorporated the Senkaku Islands in 1895 since they were terra nulla (‘nobody’s land’). The archipelago includes eight islands with a total area of about 6 square kilometers. The islands are known in China as the Diaoyu Islands meaning 'fishing platform'. Chinese authorities believe that Japan illegally owns the islands.

In September 2012 Chinese patrol vessels entered the disputed waters around the islands. It is considered the biggest provocative act by the Chinese authorities which made a peaceful settlement of the issue impossible at the time.

Kashmir

The Kashmir conflict started in 1947 and lasted to this day. It leads to constant bloody clashes and civil wars.

The modern Kashmir territory is divided into four regions. They are Azad Kashmir (unrecognized self-proclaimed state controlled by Pakistan), northern territories occupied by Pakistan during the first Indo-Pakistani War, the autonomous Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, and Aksai Chin (a disputed border area between China and India). On the map, the territories are divided by the dotted line which indicates a postcolonial split in the region.

Rockall

Rockall in the Atlantic Ocean is above the seafloor part of an extinct volcano covering an area of 570 square meters. There are no sources of fresh water on its territory. Mollusks and seabirds are the only inhabitants of Rockall.

Nevertheless, four states dispute over Rockall’s territorial allegiance. They are the UK, Ireland, Denmark, and Iceland. The countries are fighting for the right to explore mineral resources rich in oil and gas, as well as fishing.