Disputed Territories
Irredentism is an international relations term advocating the annexation of territories administered by another on the grounds of ethnicity or prior historical possession. Here are some of them.
Quemoy: This island is within sight of the Chinese mainland province of Fujian, is heavily fortified and was the focus of international tension in 1950s and 1960s. When the Chinese nationalists were driven out from the mainland by the Communists they managed to retain control of Quemoy and nearby Matsu island. It became a symbol of defiance and its status remains in dispute as part of the larger Taiwan-Chinese conflict.
Kurile Islands: Seized by the Soviet Union at the end of WW2, these four islands form part of an island chain that are claimed by Japan as part of their Northern Territories. The treaty of St.Petersburg in 1875 awarded the Kuriles to Japan in return for Russian control Sakhalin island. The European parliament offered support for Japan’s claim in 2005 provoking a furious response from Russia.
Mcmahon Line: drawn in 1914, delineating the border between India and Tibet, was disputed by Qing dynasty. After the Chinese occupied Tibet in 1959 the validity of the line came to focus when China occupied the disputed area in sharp border war in 1962. Chinese and Indian forces remain separated by a Line of Control in both disputed areas to this day.
Falkland Islands: have been claimed by France, Britain and Spain. When Argentina won its independence from Spain, it maintained the claim, but Britain seized the islands by force in 1833, but Argentina continued to claim into the 20th century when eventually a ruling junta seized them in 1982. Britain ousted the invaders in a short, fiercely fought war and maintains a strong military garrison there to deter future aggression.
Golan Heights: After independence and war that followed, the Upper Galilee became part of the new state of Israel with Syria in control of the high ground which overlooked this area. Israel seized the area in the last day of the Six Day War, 1967 and repulsed a Syrian counter-attack in one of the most intensive tank battles in history. Syria maintains its claim to the Golan and United Nations monitors an uneasy truce in the area.
Paracel islands: have been administered by China since they expelled South Vietnamese forces in the battle of Hoang Sa in 1974. Vietnam maintains its claim as they were part of the former colonial power France administered area of Indo China. Japan occupied these islands during WW2. Taiwan also maintains a claim to the islands.
Sheeba Farms: The ownership of 25 sq km of land at the foot of Mt Herman is disputed by Lebanon and Israel. Lebanon revived its claim in response to pressure from Hizbollah in 2000 following the Israeli withdrawal from Southern Lebanon. The dispute goes back to a French Failure to delineate the border in 1923 when Anglo-French agreement set the borders for the mandated territories of Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. Israel occupied this area as part of the Golan operation.
Western Sahara: When Spain relinquished the control in 1975, Morocco occupied most of it as part of Greater Morocco while Mauritania took control over the southern portion. Resistance from indigenous Polisario Front, supported by Algeria and the rest of the African Union, which regards as sacrosanct the colonial borders of Africa forced Mauritania to give up its position which was promptly occupied by Morocco. It is the only African country not a member of Organisation of African Unity (OAU) because of its stance.
Alsace Lorraine: Located in Eastern France, has changed hands 4 times during the 19th and 20th centuries. France gained control after the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, which ended the Thirty Years War. France was defeated in the Franco- Prussian war in 1871, the area became the part of unified German Reich. After Germany was defeated in WW1, France regained the territories at the Treaty of Versailles. When Hitler defeated France in 1940 the territories were once more incorporated into the Greater German Reich. At the end of the WW2 in 1945, France once more regained sovereignty and now administers the regions as Alsace-Moselle.
Spartly Islands: are widely scattered collection of reefs and the low-lying islands of South China Sea. The ownership is disputed by 6 countries: China, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. The discovery of oil 1968 and their location across one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes lent new urgency to the sovereignty issue. Some islands are fortified, but all parties are currently content to observe the status quo.
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