[..]
We thought we would list some of the scores of other “Occupied Territories” disputes that neither the Obama Administration nor anyone else has paid as much attention to as they do to apartment houses and kindergartens being built in peaceful Jewish communities on disputed territories in the Holy Land:
China/Japan–territorial disputes between China and Japan in the East China Sea continue, with both sides claim as their exclusive economic zone.
China/Korea–the historic Chinese-Korean historic dispute over land that was part of the ancient kingdom of Koguryo.
Korea/Japan— two rocky islets off the eastern shore of Korea, known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, are disputed by the two countries.
Japan/Russia— these two nations have not yet signed a formal peace treaty to end the hostilities of World War II due to the unresolved territorial dispute over the Southern Kuriles.
India/Pakistan— Kashmir is claimed by India, Pakistan, and the Kashmiris.
China/India— in a dispute with deep historical roots, China does not recognize the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of Indian territory.
India/China–Aksai Chin, sometimes known as Aksayqin, is administered by China but also claimed by India.
China/Taiwan/Malaysia/ The Philippines/Vietnam/Brunei — The Spratly Islands—a group of more than 650 reefs, islets, atolls, cays and islands located in the South China Sea—are now claimed by China, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Brunei.
Philippines/China/Taiwan –The Scarborough Shoal, near the Spratly Islands, is controlled by the Philippines, but also claimed by China and Taiwan.
Japan/China –a chain of remote, energy-rich islands, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan and as the Diaoyu Islands in China, are the subject of a territorial and maritime dispute between the two powers.
China/Taiwan — the territory of Taiwan is disputed between the Taiwanese government and the People’s Republic of China.
Australia/East Timor — Australia and East Timor are in a dispute over the energy-rich Timor Sea.
China/Tibet — Freedom House regularly lists Chinese-controlled Tibet as the worst-rated disputed territory for civil liberties.
Malaysia/Indonesia — According to Asia Times, a series of long-standing disputes recently exploded in Asia, including a maritime dispute in the Sulawesi Sea between Malaysia and Indonesia.
China/Vietnam/Taiwan –in the South China Sea, 130 small Paracel Islands, which have been “occupied” by China since 1974, are claimed by both Vietnam and Taiwan.
Indonesia/South Moluccas – South Moluccas (Republic of the South Moluccas) claims independence, but that is disputed by Indonesia.
China/Uyghurstan — East Turkestan(Uyghurstan) is a region of China where Turkic peoples want independence.
Indonesia/West Papua — West Papua is disputed by the Papuans and Indonesians.
Malaysia/Philippines — Sabah or Northern Borneo is disputed by Malaysia and the Philippines.
U.S./Marshall Islands — Wake Island is controlled by the U.S. but also claimed by Marshall Islands.
United Kingdom/Argentina — The Falkland Islands are controlled by the United Kingdom but claimed by Argentina.
Mauritius/United Kingdom — The Chagos Archipelago is administered by the British Indian Ocean Territory, but the claim is disputed Mauritius.
Russia/Ukraine — Crimea, which has a long history of contention, recently was forcibly annexed by Russia from the Ukraine. Additional areas are currently under assault by Russian-backed separatists.
Russia/Georgia–after a 2008 “five-day war” with Georgia, Russia now effectively controls Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two regions that once were firmly part of Georgia.
Serbia/Kosovo — The Republic of Kosovo claims independence, but the claim is disputed by Serbia.
Moldova/Russia – a tiny strip of land called Transdniestria, an unrecognized breakaway state that lies along Moldova’s border with Ukraine, which had seceded from Moldova, is currently eyed by Moscow.
Azerbaijan/Armenia-the Armenia-backed Nagorno-Karabakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) claims to be sovereign, but Azerbaijan claims it is their territory.
Namibia/Botswana/Angola/Zambia/Zimbabwe — The Caprivi Strip, sandwiched between Namibia, Botswana, Angola, and Zambia. and also very close to Zimbabwe, is much disputed.
United Kingdom/Republic of Ireland–there is no ultimate resolution of the status of Northern Island between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Spain/United Kingdom–the Island of Gibraltar has been in dispute between the United Kingdom and Spain since the 1700s.
France/Comoros Islands — Mayotte is ruled by France but claimed by Comoros Islands.
Syria/Turkey — Hatay, a Turkish province bordering Syria, is still claimed by the Syrians.
Turkey/Republic of Cyprus — Northern Cyprus is recognized by Turkey as independent, but the rest of the world considers it part of the Republic of Cyprus.
Spain/Portugal — Olivenza and Táliga are still disputed by Spain and Portugal.
Syria/Kurds — Syrian or Western Kurdistan is disputed between Syrians and Kurds.
Turkey/Kurds — Turkish or Northern Kurdistan is disputed by Turkey and the Kurds.
Iran/Kurdistan — Iranian or Eastern Kurdistan is disputed by Iran and the Kurds.
France/Madagascar/The Seychelles/ Comoros Glorioso — theGlorieuses Islands (Archipel des Glorieuses) are operated by France as a nature preserve, but are also claimed by Madagascar, the Seychelles, and Comoros.
U.S/Colombia/Jamaica/Nicaragua/Honduras — The U.S., Colombia, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and Honduras have all claimed sovereignty over the two small isolated, and uninhabited islets collectively known as Bajo Nuevo Bank (The Petrel Islands).
U.S./Haiti — Navassa Island is disputed between the U.S. and Haiti.
Denmark/Natives — The Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic is controlled by Denmark but some of the islanders want independence.
Angola/Cabinda — The Republic of Cabinda claims independence but this is disputed by Angola.
Somalia/Somaliland — Somaliland claims independence from Somalia.
Spain/Western Sahara — in 1975 an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) was sought on whether Western Sahara, at the time of colonization by Spain was a “territory belonging to no one” (terra nullius). The situation was similar to the West Bank, which was terra nullius or owned by no one when captured by Israel in 1967.
We haven’t counted the implosion of Libya, the unrelenting bloodletting in Syria, or the ethnic cleansing of historic Christian and Yazidi areas in Iraq.
Let’s hope that the new President of the United States, Donald Trump and the new UN Secretary General António Guterres will begin to refer to this roadmap of global disputes as the guide for international priorities instead of embracing a dangerously out-of-date Mideast roadmap that would only lead Israel into oblivion.
—
and a significant percent of land in Colombia is ruled by FARC.
add Balochistan, & Karelia (even tho Finns now mostly dream of getting Karelia back from Russia.)
Balochistan was once independent, but long since divided & occupied between Iran and Pakistan.
add Karelia, even tho Finns now mostly dream of getting it back from Russia:
“…In 1939, the Soviet Union attacked Finland, thus starting the Winter War. The Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940 handed most of Finnish Karelia to the Soviet Union. About 400,000 people, virtually the whole population, had to be relocated within Finland. In 1941, Karelia was liberated for three years during the Continuation War of 1941 to 1944 when East Karelia was occupied by the Finns. The Winter War and the resulting Soviet expansion caused considerable bitterness in Finland, which lost its second biggest city, Viipuri, its industrial heartland along the river Vuoksi, the Saimaa canal that connected central Finland to the Gulf of Finland, access to the fishing waters of Lake Ladoga (Finnish: Laatokka), and made an eighth of her citizens refugees without chance of return. (From the areas ceded to the Soviet Union, the whole population was evacuated and resettled in other parts of Finland. The present inhabitants of the former Finnish Karelian parts of Russia, such as the city of Vyborg/Viipuri and the Karelian Isthmus, are post-war immigrants and their descendants.)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karelia
Add Iran and Pakistan occupation of Balochistan
Really good analysis of Somalililand sovereignty esp context of AU rule on preserving colonial borders, and Berbera port:
http://www.somalilandpress.com/somalilandtime-make-choice-east-west/
Ha