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Revision as of 18:32, 26 February 2013

This is a list territorial disputes around the world. Both Past and present in modern times. Bold indicates one claimant's full control; italics indicates one or more claimants' partial control.

Disputes between recognized sovereign states

Africa

Territory	Claimants	Notes
Abyei	Sudan  South Sudan	Both Sudan and South Sudan claim the area. Takeover by north May 2011
Badme	Ethiopia  Eritrea	Basis of the Eritrean-Ethiopian War which began in 1998. Currently controlled by Ethiopia.
Bakassi	Cameroon  Nigeria	This area was handed over by Nigeria to Cameroon following an International Court of Justice ruling, but the Senate of Nigeria has decreed the handover of territory was illegal.
Banc du Geyser	Madagascar  Comoros  France
Bassas da India, Europa Island and Juan de Nova Island	France  Madagascar
Bir Tawil	None  Egypt-administered	De jure no man's land. Egypt and Sudan both claim different borders in which they would have the Hala'ib Triangle, leaving the Bir Tawil to the other. As both claim the Hala'ib Triangle, neither claims Bir Tawil.
Bure	Ethiopia  Eritrea
Caprivi Strip boundary tripoints/quadripoint	Botswana  Namibia  Zambia  Zimbabwe
Ceuta	Spain  Morocco
Chagos Archipelago	United Kingdom  Mauritius  Seychelles	United Kingdom administers as part of British Indian Ocean Territory
Part of Gicumbi District, Northern Province	Rwanda  Uganda
Glorioso Islands	France  Madagascar  Seychelles  Comoros
Hala'ib Triangle	Egypt  Sudan	Previously under joint administration; Egypt now maintains full de facto control
Heglig	Sudan  South Sudan	Both Sudan and South Sudan claim the area. Controlled by South Sudan in mid-April 2012, internationally viewed as part of Sudan.
Ilemi Triangle	Kenya  South Sudan
Islas Chafarinas	Spain  Morocco
Jodha	South Sudan  Sudan	Both Sudan and South Sudan claim the area.
Part of Kabale District	Uganda  Rwanda
Kafia Kingi	South Sudan  Sudan	Both Sudan and South Sudan claim the area.
Kaka	South Sudan  Sudan	Both Sudan and South Sudan claim the area.
KaNgwane	South Africa  Eswatini	Swaziland claims territories which it states were confiscated during colonial times. The area claimed by Swaziland 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.
Part of the Kahemba region	Angola  DR Congo	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. The countries agreed to end the dispute in July 2007.
Koualou village	Burkina Faso  Benin
Kpeaba village	Guinea  Ivory Coast	Guinean troops occupying village since January 2013.
Area near Logoba/Moyo District	South Sudan  Uganda
Lunchinda-Pweto province	Zambia  DR Congo
Mayotte	France  Comoros	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 Lake Malawi#Tanzania–Malawi dispute
Mbañie Island, Cocotiers, and Congas Island	Gabon  Equatorial Guinea
Melilla	Spain  Morocco
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 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.
Peñón de Alhucemas	Spain  Morocco
Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera	Spain  Morocco
Perejil Island	Spain  Morocco	After the 2002 incident, both countries agreed to return to the status quo previous to the incident.
Ras Doumeira and Doumeira Island	Eritrea  Djibouti
The Rufunzo Valley and Sabanerwa	Rwanda  Burundi
Rukwanzi Island and the Semliki River valley	DR Congo  Uganda
Exclusive Economic Zone surrounding the Savage Islands	Portugal  Spain
Sindabezi Island	Zambia  Zimbabwe
Socotran 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).
South East Algeria	Algeria  Libya
Tromelin Island	France  Mauritius  Seychelles
Tsorona-Zalambessa	Ethiopia  Eritrea
Wadi Halfa Salient	Egypt  Sudan
Yenga (border hamlet), and left bank of the Makona and Moa rivers	Sierra Leone  Guinea

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
Part of Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area	United Kingdom  Cyprus
Azad Kashmir (part of Kashmir, see below)	Pakistan  India
Aksai Chin (part of Jammu and Kashmir, see below)	China (PRC)  India	Possibly also the ROC.
Arunachal Pradesh (part of India-controlled Arunachal Pradesh)	Republic of India China (PRC) Rep of China (Taiwan)	Controlled by India but claimed by China and Taiwan who dispute the validity of the McMahon Line
Jammu and Kashmir	Pakistan  India
Bhutanese enclaves in Tibet, namely Cherkip Gompa, Dho, Dungmar, Gesur, Gezon, Itse Gompa, Khochar, Nyanri, Ringung, Sanmar, Tarchen and Zuthulphuk	China (PRC)  Bhutan	Possibly also the ROC.
Boraibari	Bangladesh  India	Boraibari falls under the adverse possession category with the map suggesting that it should be within Indian control.
Daikhata-Dumabari	India  Bangladesh	Daikhata-Dumabari fall under the adverse possession category with the map suggesting that it should be within Bangladeshi control.
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 Thonsáy and the Northern Pirates/Koh Po	Cambodia  Vietnam
David Gareja monastery complex boundary dispute	Georgia  Azerbaijan
Demchok, Chumar, Kaurik, Shipki Pass, Jadh, and Lapthal	China (PRC)  India Rep of China (Taiwan)	Disputed areas located between Aksai Chin and Nepal, all administered by India except for most of the Demchok tract (administered by China.)
Part of Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area	United Kingdom  Cyprus
Doi Lang	Burma  Thailand
Durand Line/Federally Administered Tribal Areas	Pakistan  Afghanistan	Region part of Pakistan but, claimed by Afghanistan.
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
Gilgit–Baltistan (Jammu and Kashmir)	Pakistan  India
Greater and Lesser Tunbs	Iran  United Arab Emirates
Hibernia Reef	Australia  Indonesia
Ieodo Island/Suyan Rock (aka Socotra Rock)	South Korea China (PRC)	Dispute of continental shelf which in turn determines the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the respective countries. Also possibly claimed by Rep of China (Taiwan) and North Korea.
Indo-Bangladesh enclaves	India  Bangladesh	Controlled by India but claimed by Bangladesh.
Isfara Valley	Kyrgyzstan  Tajikistan
Kachatheevu Island	India  Sri Lanka	Given to Sri Lanka by India in 1974.
Karang Unarang	Indonesia  Malaysia
Kalapani region, the smaller Susta River dispute and the smaller still Antudanda and Nawalparasi disputes	India  Nepal	All administered by India.
Karki exclave of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan	Armenia  Azerbaijan	Armenia occupied this Azerbaijani exclave in January 1990 as part of the wider Nagorno-Karabakh War
Khuriya Muriya Islands	Oman  Yemen
Disputed Kurdish-Iraqi areas	Iraq  Iraqi Kurdistan
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 and mountainous areas to the west of this peak, plus the western Haa District of Bhutan	China (PRC)  Bhutan	Possibly also the ROC.
South Kuril Islands (Northern Territories)	Russia  Japan
Lathitila	India  Bangladesh	Controlled by India but claimed by Bangladesh.
Liancourt Rocks	' Japan  South Korea
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.
Macclesfield Bank	China (PRC) Rep of China (Taiwan)  Vietnam
Matthew and Hunter Islands	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.
Muhurichar river island	India  Bangladesh	Controlled by India but claimed by Bangladesh.
Certain islands in the Naf River	Bangladesh  Burma
Small areas of Oecusse District	Timor-Leste  Indonesia
Okinotorishima	Japan China (PRC)	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	China (PRC) Rep of China (Taiwan)  Vietnam	Entirely controlled by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan
"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, and sovereignty over South Ledge belongs to the state in the territorial waters of which it is located.
"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
Part of Poipet commune	Thailand  Cambodia
Prachinburi area	Thailand  Cambodia
Preah Vihear Temple area (Khao Phra Wihan)	Thailand  Cambodia	Temple complex awarded to Cambodia by an International Court of Justice ruling in 1962, but Cambodian–Thai border dispute continues over areas immediately adjacent to the temple.
Pulau Batek/Fatu Sinai	Indonesia  Timor-Leste	Ceded by Timor-Leste to Indonesia in August 2004.
Pyrdiwah	India  Bangladesh	Controlled by India but claimed by 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).
Scarborough Shoal	China Philippines Rep of China (Taiwan)	Since the 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff The Philippines has released a law that proclaims the islands as a "regime of islands".
Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai)	Japan China (PRC) Rep of China (Taiwan)
Shaksgam Valley	China (PRC)  India	Possibly also the ROC.Currently controlled by China.
Shatt al-Arab	Iran  Iraq
Siachen Glacier and Saltoro Ridge area	India  Pakistan	Taken over by India in 1984 and currently administered by India but claimed by Pakistan.
Sir Creek	India  Pakistan	A dispute over where in the estuary the line falls; no land, but significant maritime territory is involved.
South Talpatti/New Moore/Purbasha Island	India  Bangladesh	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 in the first decade of the 2000s. While land disputes here no longer exist, the maritime boundary is yet to be defined.
Spratly Islands	Rep of China (Taiwan) China (PRC)  Vietnam  Philippines (part)  Malaysia (part)  Brunei (part)	The Philippines has released a law that proclaims part of the islands as a "regime of islands".
Swains Island	United States  Tokelau	This claim is unsupported by New Zealand, of whom Tokelau is a dependency. New Zealand formally recognises the USA's sovereignty over Swains Island.
Exclusive Economic Zone near the Tasman Sea	Australia  Japan	Japan continues to perform whaling operations in the area. For more info see Whaling in Japan
Parts of Three Pagodas Pass	Burma  Thailand
Trans-Karakoram Tract	China (PRC)  India
Tsushima Island	Japan  South Korea	Claimed by Korea
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
Golan Heights	Israel  Syria	Formerly Syrian territory captured by Israel in 1967 (the Six-Day War), and annexed by Israel in 1981. A small 10 mi wide strip along the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret) was part of the former Palestine Mandate and was part of Israel until being captured by Syria in 1948.
Shebaa Farms	Israel  Lebanon  Syria
Saudi Arabia–United Arab Emirates border dispute	United Arab Emirates  Saudi Arabia

Europe

Territory	Claimants	Notes
Aegean dispute	Turkey  Greece	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
Carlingford Lough boundary dispute	Ireland  United Kingdom
Some areas by the Danube Parts of Osijek and Sombor districts	Croatia  Serbia
Ems estuary and Dollart Bay (western part)	Netherlands  Germany	Settled in 1960s (agreeing to disagree) Subject to treaty negotiations as a result of implications for the territorial sea north of the Dollart.
Gibraltar	United Kingdom  Spain	Spain claims territory under the Treaty of Utrecht conditions.
Gulf of Piran	Slovenia  Croatia	An agreement was signed (and ratified by Croatia's parliament on Nov. 20, 2009) to pursue binding arbitration to both the land and maritime portions of this ongoing dispute
Isthmus between Gibraltar and Spain	United Kingdom  Spain	Spain claims territory as illegally occupied since it was not included into the Treaty of Utrecht.
Imia/Kardak	Turkey  Greece	Part of Aegean dispute
Tuzla Island and Strait of Kerch; Sarych	Ukraine  Russia	The conflict arose in 2003 when the Russian authorities started to build a dam towards the island. Since then Ukraine established a border garrison on the island for a closer surveillance. The reason for the conflict is the fact that Tuzla island strategic location gives Ukraine full rights over the main channel in the Strait of Kerch and, thus, the access to the Sea of Azov.
Sarych	Ukraine  Russia	The conflict is based on the division of the Black Sea Fleet and a lease agreement of the Sevastopol Naval facilities.
Lake Constance	Austria  Germany  Switzerland
Lough Foyle boundary dispute	Ireland  United Kingdom
An area near Montalmus peak	Andorra  Spain
Olivenza (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). By the Treaty of Vienna (1815), the signatory powers pledged to mediate in favor of Portugal, but, until today, Spain never returned the territory.
Prevlaka	Croatia  Montenegro
Rockall	United Kingdom  Ireland  Denmark  Iceland	Only the UK claims the rock itself. Ireland and Britain have agreed upon a demarcation of the surrounding sea-bed. Denmark and Iceland claim that the Rockall trough limits the Irish and British claims to the waters surrounding the rock and to the Rockall Bank.
Sastavci	Serbia  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Island of Šarengrad	Serbia  Croatia
Military complex near Sveta Gera, in the area of Žumberak/Gorjanci	Slovenia  Croatia
Veliki Školj and Mali Školj (near Neum)	Croatia  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Island of Vukovar	Croatia  Serbia

North America

Territory	Claimants	Notes
Hans Island	Canada  Denmark	Claimed by both Canada and Denmark (on behalf of Greenland).
Continental shelf in the eastern Gulf of Mexico beyond 200 nautical miles	Cuba  Mexico  United States	Overlap on the eastern gap of the Gulf of Mexico between an area of continental shelf extending beyond 200 nautical miles from Cuba, an area of continental shelf extending beyond 200 nautical miles from Mexico and an area of continental shelf extending beyond 200 nautical miles from the United States. (The case of the western gap was solved by a treaty between Mexico and the United States of America on the delimitation of the continental shelf in the western Gulf of Mexico beyond 200 nautical miles, of June 9, 2000.)

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
Portland Canal	British Columbia	Alaska
Beaufort Sea	Northwest Territories, Yukon	Alaska
Northwest Passage and some other Arctic waters	Canadian territorial waters	U.S. claims navigation rights

Central America and the Caribbean

Territory	Claimants	Notes
200 nmi of Barbados	Venezuela  Barbados	Venezuela claims the southern maritime seas of Barbados since 1990. Guyana/Barbados claim this area as their overlapping maritime area and both have since signed joint cooperation agreement over this area. It became subject to dispute when Barbados was issuing oil licenses in 2008 and Venezuela informed the United Nations that it considers that portion of seabed as belonging to Venezuela.
Isla Aves	Venezuela  Dominica	Dominica abandoned the claim to the island in 2006, but continues to claim the adjacent seas, as do some neighboring states.
Southern half of Belize	Belize  Guatemala	Guatemala formerly claiming all Belize.
Bajo Nuevo Bank	Colombia  Nicaragua  United States  Jamaica	Honduras has recognised the sovereignty of Colombia; other claimants have not.
Calero Island's northernmost part	Costa Rica  Nicaragua
Conejo Island	Honduras  El Salvador
Navassa Island	United States  Haiti
San Andrés and Providencia	Colombia  Nicaragua	Honduras de facto recognises Colombian claim.
Sapodilla Cay	Belize  Guatemala  Honduras	Guatemala formerly claiming all Belize.
Serranilla Bank	Colombia  Honduras  Nicaragua  United States	Jamaica has recognised the sovereignty of Colombia; other claimants have not.

South America

Territory	Claimants	Notes
Guayana Esequiba (Guyana west of the Essequibo River)	Guyana  Venezuela	Also forms part of the Venezuela–Barbados dispute, Venezuela claiming southern portion of Guyana/Barbados overlapping maritime area. Barbados and Guyana have since signed joint cooperation agreement over this area.
Ankoko Island/Isla de Anacoco	Venezuela  Guyana
Arroyo de la Invernada or Rincón de Artigas and Vila Albornoz	Brazil  Uruguay	Dispute in the 235 km (91 sq mi) Invernada River region near Masoller, over which tributary represents the legitimate source of the Quaraí River/Cuareim River
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)	United Kingdom  Argentina	See Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute
French Guiana west of the Marouini River	France  Suriname
Guaíra Falls/Sete Quedas	Brazil  Paraguay	The disputed islands were submerged by the reservoir of Itaipú.
Guyana east of the Upper Courantyne River	Guyana  Suriname
Isla Brasilera/Ilha Brasileira	Brazil  Uruguay	Uruguayan officials claim that the island falls under their Artigas Department
Isla Suárez/Ilha de Guajará-mirim	Bolivia  Brazil
Gulf of Venezuela Sea Border	Venezuela  Colombia	Colombia claims it has right to waters in this Gulf.
Pacific Ocean Sea border	Chile  Peru	This arguably covers 19,000–35,000 square metres of sea extending westward from the border marker number one area on the coast.
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	United Kingdom  Argentina	Including Shag Rocks. See South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands sovereignty dispute
Southern Patagonian Ice Field between Monte Fitz Roy and Cerro Murallón	Argentina  Chile	Parts of the border still officially undefined.

Disputes between recognized sovereign states and other states

Territory	Claimants	Notes
Abkhazia	Republic of Abkhazia  Georgia	Main article: Georgian–Abkhazian conflict
Village of Aibga and surrounding area	Republic of Abkhazia  Russia
Eastern part of Bhutan	Bhutan  Republic of China (Taiwan)
North Cyprus	Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus  Cyprus	Republic of Cyprus claims the whole island. Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (self declared state) claims the northern part of the island
Mainland China, Hainan, and other islands controlled by the PRC.	People's Republic of China  Republic of China (Taiwan)	Main article: Cross-Strait relations
Moldovan-controlled area of Dubăsari district	Moldova  Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic
East Jerusalem	Israel  Palestinian Authority
A small area of Gilgit-Baltistan	Pakistan  Republic of China (Taiwan)
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 Ussuriysky Island (eastern half)	Russia  Republic of China (Taiwan)	Split by the People's Republic of China and Russia in 2004
Heixiazi / Bolshoy Ussuriysky Island (western half)	People's Republic of China  Republic of China (Taiwan)	Split by the People's Republic of China and Russia in 2004
Kachin State	Myanmar  Republic of China (Taiwan)	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 (Taiwan)
Kosovo	Serbia  Republic of Kosovo	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 recognised by 114 UN member states.
Kutuzov Island	Russia  Republic of China (Taiwan)
Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts	Nagorno-Karabakh  Azerbaijan	Much of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast and some surrounding territory is under the control of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which is claimed by Azerbaijan.
Outer Mongolia	Mongolia  Republic of China (Taiwan)	Outer Mongolia has been excluded from Enforcement Rules for the Act Governing Relations between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area since 2002. However, Outer Mongolia remains part of the ROC in the Constitution of the Republic of China.
Part of the Rasŏn administrative division	North Korea  Republic of China (Taiwan)
Sixty-Four Villages East of the Heilongjiang River	Russia  Republic of China (Taiwan)
Somaliland	Somaliland  Somalia
South Ossetia	Republic of South Ossetia  Georgia	Main article: Georgian–Ossetian conflict
'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	Republic of China (Taiwan)  People's Republic of China	See also: Anti-Secession Law Legal status of Taiwan
Transnistria	Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic  Moldova
Tuva	Russia  Republic of China (Taiwan)
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 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.

Disputes between a state and its subnational entities, or between subnational entities

Territory	Country	Internal Claimants	Notes
Belgaum	India	Karnataka  Maharashtra	Disputed since 1956 when Belgaum district was not transferred to Maharashtra.
Hogenakkal	India	Tamil Nadu  Karnataka	which is part of Tamil Nadu
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, at the time a separate country. Although Canada accepted the current border, Quebec never did.
Songling District and Jiagedaqi District	People's Republic of China	Inner Mongolia  Heilongjiang
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.

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).

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

Asia and Pacific

Territory	Former claimants	Dispute started	Dispute settled	Notes
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 the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875), Japan agreed to give up its claims on Sakhalin in exchange for undisputed ownership of the Kuril Islands.
Pamir Mountains	Tajikistan  People's Republic of China	1877	2011	The PRC relinquished its claim over this territory in January 2011 with final ratification of a treaty ceding 1,158 square kilometres (447 sq mi) to it by the Tajik government.
Palmas Island (modern day Miangas Island)	United States  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 currently a part of modern Indonesia.
Yalu River (disputed sovereignty of certain islands)	People's Republic of China  North Korea  South Korea	1949	2005	The allocation to North Korea of all of the large islands in the lower Yalu River, including Pidan and Sindo at the mouth, is now clear. The river's maritime rights remain shared between the two nations.
Shaksgam Valley	Pakistan (still claimed by:  India  People's Republic of China)	1947	1963	Pakistan relinquished its claim to 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.
West Bank and 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.
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.
Timor Sea	Australia  East Timor	1970s	2002	Disputed since the 1970s when petroleum was discovered of the sea more specifically the Timor Gap which is just outside the territorial boundaries of Australia and East Timor though a temporary solution was reached with the Timor Gap Treaty. However, when East Timorese voted for independence in 1999 that was abandoned. The Timor Sea Treaty was signed in 2002 by the Head of State of both countries ended the dispute and was later extended to 2057.

Americas

Territory	Former Claimants	Dispute Started	Dispute Settled	Notes
Various Massachusetts boundary disputes	Massachusetts  New York  New Hampshire  Rhode Island  Connecticut	1641	1865	The dispute lasted from when these areas were colonies of Great Britain to states of the United States.
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 Quebec.
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.
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
Laguna del Desierto	Argentina  Chile	1949	1994

Europe

Territory	Former Claimants	Dispute Started	Dispute Settled	Notes
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.
Bozcaada	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 Lloyd George and his Middle Eastern policies, 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	1999	Formerly disputed between Ireland and the United Kingdom since partition on 23 December 1920, it was settled by the Good Friday Agreement in 1999, when Ireland renounced its claim. However, both countries acknowledged that the territory can rejoin 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 part of independent Latvia as Abrene until Latvia was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union and Abrene was attached to Russian SSR in 1948. Latvia disputed Russian jurisdiction over the region until giving it up in a border treaty with Russia in 2007.
Sevastopol	Ukraine  Russia	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.
Black Sea and Snake Island	Ukraine  Romania	2004	2009	In 2004 Romania filed a case to International Court of Justice claiming the Snake Island is an uninhibited rock. 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) Bile as part of Vylkove city Odessa Region.
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 lead 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 WWII which was followed by a large number of ethnic Poles beginning 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.

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.

Notes

1. ^ The Republic of China (ROC), now based in Taiwan, is involved in territorial disputes with many governments bordering China. Due to the One-China policy, it has no formal diplomatic relations with any of these states. The ROC recognises neither the People's Republic of China (PRC) nor its border agreements or treaties with any other countries. 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, with the power of the National Assembly to alter transferred to the Legislative Yuan and the electorate.
2. ^ The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) do not recognize each other.
3. ^ . Relinquished by the People's Republic of China but still claimed by the Republic of China.

See also

• Demilitarized zone
• Dependent territory
• 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
• Table of administrative divisions by country
• Territorial claims in the Arctic
• Territorial disputes in the Persian Gulf

References

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2. ^ African Affairs - Sign In Page
3. ^ Zapatero stirs anger of Morocco - International Herald Tribune
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9. 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 Senate of France, 2003.
10. Comunicados y notas de prensa de la OID
11. http://www.hiiraan.com/news2/2010/oct/for_first_time_in_history_somalia_claims_socotra_as_its_own.aspx
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18. Pedra Branca case, operative clause; Sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge (Malaysia/Singapore), International Court of Justice, 23 May 2008. See also ICJ awards Pedra Branca's sovereignty to Singapore, Channel NewsAsia, 23 May 2008, retrieved 23 May 2008; Court awards islet to Singapore, BBC News, 23 May 2008.
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23. КАСПИЙСКИЙ САММИТ НЕ СОСТОЯЛСЯ
24. "Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf". http://www.un.org/depts/los/clcs_new/submissions_files/submission_cub_51_2009.htm
25. Acuerdo para precisar el recorrido del Límite desde el Monte Fitz Roy hasta el Cerro Daudet
26. "Moscow, Sokhumi Dispute Village in 'Border Talks'". Civil.ge. 2 April 2011.
27. "Russia e Abkhazia litigano per i confini". AgoraVox Italia. 23 May 2011.
28. Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China, Article 9, Section 2
29. Constitution of the People's Republic of China, Preamble
30. Shaila Dewan, Georgia Claims a Sliver of the Tennessee River, The New York Times, February 22, 2008
31. "China's area increases by 1000 sq km". Times of India. 12 January 2011.
32. 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)
33. Richard Baker (21 April 2007). "New Timor treaty 'a failure'". Theage.com.au. The Age Company Ltd. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
34. "Timor Sea Treaty between the Government of East Timor and the Government of Australia". Australasian Legal Information Institute - Australian Treaty Series. 2003. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
35. Robert J. King, Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea, the Timor Sea Treaty and the Timor Gap, 1972-2007, Submission to the Australian Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Treaties’ Inquiry into the Treaty on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea, March 2007, p.70.
36. http://www.macgregorishistory.com/english/ib/League%20of%20Nations/lon1920.html
37. "Review of Ukraine base lease 'fatal,' Russia warns". People's Daily. Beijing, China. 28 December 2005. Archived from the original on 17 January 2006. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
38. Hemeroteca ABC
39. Catholic Herald
40. Barr, Susan (1987). Norway's Polar Territories. Oslo: Aschehoug. p. 63. ISBN 82-03-15689-4.

External links

• "Government Statistics: Transnational Issues: Disputes: International (most recent) by country". Nation Master.

• Territorial disputes
• Lists of countries
• Border-related lists