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The list of contentious territories in the world is long and always growing bigger. While some borders or territories have always been peaceful, others have a long history of constant battle. There are many reasons for these disputes, like the hunger for power, natural resources and past disagreements. The list of territorial disputes is quite long. Hence we will be discussing some of the biggest disputed territory in the world. So, keep your curiosity meter high and learn about such regions around the world.
East China Sea
China is involved in multiple border disputes. One of the major disputes among them is the East China Sea dispute. This sea holds a chain of islands called the Diaoyu islands in China and the Senkaku islands in Japan. Both the countries are in a maritime and territorial dispute over these islands. The dispute escalated when in 2012, it was discovered that the islands have huge oil and gas reserves underneath.
Japan says that the islands were under no rule till 1895. That is when Japan got control over it. However, China argues they have owned the islands before that. Some other China’s other territorial disputes examples are India, Tibet and Taiwan.
Israel/Palestine
This dispute is more than 100 years old. This tension started when Britain took control of an area called Palestine. At that time, this land was home to the Arab majority and Jewish minority. Tension arose between these two communities when British Government was ordered by the international community to create a national home for Jewish people in Palestine. Jewish people had their ancestral homes on this land. While Arabs also claimed this land and were against the order.
Over time, the population of Jews grew. In 1947, the UN ordered Palestine to be divided into different Arab and Jewish states, with Jerusalem being an international city. Although Jews welcomed this order, the Arabs did not accept it. Tired of making peace between the two communities, Britishers left in 1948, and this was when Israel formed. Many such wars have happened between the two communities since then, and the tension remains till-date.
Jammu & Kashmir
Jammu & Kashmir shares borders with India, China and Pakistan. There has been tension between these three nations in this Himalayan region. This has been a disputed border since the British rule ended in India. Post the British rule, the subcontinent was divided into two independent nations called India and Pakistan. The 724kms long border between India and Pakistan is heavily militarized and is called the Line of Control or LOC. There have been multiple cases of the India-Pakistan war and ceasefire infringement over Jammu & Kashmir till-date.
Western Sahara
Spain withdrew from the Western Sahara region of Northwest Africa in 1976. Morocco succeeded in winning over 259,000sq.km. resource-rich desert area. And the dispute arose since then.
Morocco slowly built a 3,219kms long wall called ‘Berm’ to push away the local population (Sahrawis). In 2010, the UN tried to mediate talks over this disputed territory’s future, but it went in vain. Many people were killed in the clashes between protestors and Moroccan forces.
Antarctica
Next on the list of the biggest disputed territory in the world comes Antarctica. Many times, countries like France, the United Kingdom and Argentina have tried to claim Antarctica. But international community did not pay heed to such claims post the Antarctica Treaty, of 1959. But still, some experts say that since the land in Antarctica is filled with natural resources, the claims can become stronger.
Kuril Islands
This gorgeous archipelago of 56 islands still stands as the sole reason behind Japan and Russia not signing a peace treaty to formally close World War II. Post the war, the Soviet Union attacked the islands and took over a few regions under Imperial Russia’s control. Yalta agreement was signed to transfer the islands to the Soviet Union. But still, Japan claims the southernmost islands.
Crimea
Crimea lies along the northern coast of the Black Sea. It has a mostly ethnic Russian population. It became a part of Ukraine in 1954. This is when both Russia and Ukraine were part of the Soviet Union. On 16th March 2014, a referendum led to the reunification of Crimea with Russia. Many countries opposed this move. Due to the geographic position of Crimea, it has always been a disputed piece of land.
Korean Peninsula
The biggest disputed territory in the world list holds the name of the Korean peninsula too. It is said that the war between North and South Korea never came to an end. They have never signed a peace treaty but an armistice. Over the years, they have continued to fight for geopolitical reasons.
Somaliland
The borders of Africa have changed through time. It is all because of the European colonial powers trying to gain control over it. The countries trying to rule over Africa were France and Britain. During Second World War, all the Somali territories were under the British military administration, except French Somaliland. Somalia became independent in 1960. But the country faced a very long civil war in the 1980s which destroyed the country completely. However, Somaliland became free in 1991. But the international community still doesn’t recognize the Republic of Somaliland.
Conclusion
There have been many ongoing territorial disputes that have been running for more than 100 years. The countries in dispute do not want to agree on something and maintain peace. And hence the wars have been ongoing. This article details some of the biggest territorial disputes and sources of territorial disputes.
