Disputes - international In 35 editions of 36.

Libya claims part of southeastern Algeria; land boundary dispute with Tunisia settled in 1993

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claimed by Madagascar

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• short section of boundary with Namibia is indefinite;
• quadripoint with Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe is in disagreement;
• dispute with Namibia over uninhabited Kasikili (Sidudu) Island in Linyanti (Chobe) River remained unresolved in mid-February 1995 and the parties agreed to refer the matter to the International Court of Justice

following mutual acceptance of an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling in December 1986 on their international boundary dispute, Burkina and Mali are proceeding with boundary demarcation, including the tripoint with Niger

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• demarcation of international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria;
• dispute with Nigeria over land and maritime boundaries in the vicinity of the Bakasi Peninsula has been referred to the International Court of Justice

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• the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in February 1994 that the 100,000 sq km Aozou Strip between Chad and Libya belongs to Chad;
• Libya has withdrawn some of its forces in response to the ICJ ruling, but still maintains an airfield in the disputed area;
• demarcation of international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which has led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaiting ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria

claims French-administered Mayotte

• Tanzania-Zaire-Zambia tripoint in Lake Tanganyika may no longer be indefinite since it is reported that the indefinite section of the Zaire-Zambia boundary has been settled;
• long section with Congo along the Congo River is indefinite (no division of the river or its islands has been made)

long segment of boundary with Zaire along the Congo River is indefinite (no division of the river or its islands has been made)

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administrative boundary with Sudan does not coincide with international boundary creating the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km, tensions over this disputed area began to escalate in 1992 and remain high

maritime boundary dispute with Gabon because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay

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Swaziland has asked South Africa to open negotiations on reincorporating some nearby South African territories that are populated by ethnic Swazis or that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom

southern half of the boundary with Somalia is a Provisional Administrative Line; territorial dispute with Somalia over the Ogaden

claimed by Madagascar

maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay

short section of boundary with Senegal is indefinite

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claimed by Madagascar

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claimed by Madagascar

administrative boundary with Sudan does not coincide with international boundary; possible claim by Somalia based on unification of ethnic Somalis

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• the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in February 1994 that the 100,000 sq km Aozou Strip between Chad and Libya belongs to Chad, and that Libya must withdraw from it by 31 May 1994;
• Libya has withdrawn some its forces in response to the ICJ ruling, but still maintains an airfield in the disputed area;
• maritime boundary dispute with Tunisia;
• claims part of northern Niger and part of southeastern Algeria

claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island (all administered by France)

dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi)

• the disputed international boundary between Burkina and Mali was submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in October 1983 and the ICJ issued its final ruling in December 1986, which both sides agreed to accept;
• Burkina and Mali are proceeding with boundary demarcation, including the tripoint with Niger

boundary with Senegal in dispute

• claims UK-administered Chagos Archipelago, which includes the island of Diego Garcia in UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory;
• claims French-administered Tromelin Island

claimed by Comoros

• claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty is unresolved;
• the UN is attempting to hold a referendum;
• the UN-administered cease-fire has been currently in effect since September 1991;
• Spain controls five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco - the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla which Morocco contests as well as the islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas

none

• short section of boundary with Botswana is indefinite;
• quadripoint with Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe is in disagreement;
• dispute with Botswana over uninhabited Kasikili ( Sidudu) Island in Linyanti (Chobe) River remained unresolved in mid-February 1995 and the parties agreed to refer the matter to the International Court of Justice;

• Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger;
• demarcation of international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which has led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaiting ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria;
• Burkina and Mali are proceeding with boundary demarcation, including the tripoint with Niger

• demarcation of international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria;
• dispute with Cameroon over land and maritime boundaries in the vicinity of the Bakasi Peninsula has been referred to the International Court of Justice

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short section of the boundary with The Gambia is indefinite; boundary with Mauritania in dispute;

claims Tromelin Island

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southern half of boundary with Ethiopia is a Provisional Administrative Line; territorial dispute with Ethiopia over the Ogaden

Swaziland has asked South Africa to open negotiations on reincorporating some nearby South African territories that are populated by ethnic Swazis or that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom;

• administrative boundary with Kenya does not coincide with international boundary;
• administrative boundary with Egypt does not coincide with international boundary creating the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km, tensions over this disputed area began to escalate in 1992 and remain high

• boundary dispute with Malawi in Lake Nyasa;
• Tanzania-Zaire-Zambia tripoint in Lake Tanganyika may no longer be indefinite since it is reported that the indefinite section of the Zaire-Zambia boundary has been settled

none

claimed by Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles

• maritime boundary dispute with Libya;
• land boundary dispute with Algeria settled in 1993;
• Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration

none

• claimed and administered by Morocco, but sovereignty is unresolved and the UN is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue;
• the UN-administered cease-fire has been currently in effect since September 1991

• quadripoint with Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe is in disagreement;
• Tanzania-Zaire-Zambia tripoint in Lake Tanganyika may no longer be indefinite since it is reported that the indefinite section of the Zaire-Zambia boundary has been settled

quadripoint with Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia is in disagreement

• Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctic Treaty Summary below);
• sections (some overlapping) claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France (Adelie Land), New Zealand (Ross Dependency), Norway (Queen Maud Land), and UK;
• the US and most other nations do not recognize the territorial claims of other nations and have made no claims themselves (the US reserves the right to do so);
• no formal claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west

none

"Terre Adelie" claim in Antarctica is not recognized by the US

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administered by the UK, claimed by Argentina

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Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Ireland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area)

none

focus of maritime boundary dispute in the Barents Sea between Norway and Russia

• periodic disputes with Iran over Helmand water rights;
• Iran supports clientsin country, private Pakistani and Saudi sources also are active;
• power struggles among various groups for control of Kabul, regional rivalries among emerging warlords, traditional tribal disputes continue;
• support to Islamic fighters in Tajikistan's civil war;
• border dispute with Pakistan (Durand Line);
• support to Islamic militants worldwide by some factions

• supports ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh in their separatist conflict against the Azerbaijani government;
• traditional demands on former Armenian lands in Turkey have subsided

violent and longstanding dispute with ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh over its status; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined

a portion of the boundary with India is in dispute; water-sharing problems with upstream riparian India over the Ganges

none

the entire Chagos Archipelago is claimed by Mauritius

• boundary with India in dispute;
• disputed sections of the boundary with Russia remain to be settled;
• boundary with Tajikistan in dispute;
• a short section of the boundary with North Korea is indefinite;
• involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei;
• maritime boundary dispute with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin;
• Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan;
• claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does Taiwan

none

• boundaries with Bangladesh and China;
• status of Kashmir with Pakistan;
• water-sharing problems with downstream riparians, Bangladesh over the Ganges and Pakistan over the Indus

• islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan;
• Liancourt Rocks disputed with South Korea;
• Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands) claimed by China and Taiwan

Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined

short section of boundary with China is indefinite; Demarcation Line with South Korea

Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks claimed by Japan

territorial dispute with Tajikistan on southwestern boundary in Isfara Valley area

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• status of Kashmir with India;
• border question with Afghanistan (Durand Line);
• water-sharing problems (Wular Barrage) over the Indus with upstream riparian India

inherited disputes from former USSR including:

• sections of the boundary with China;
• islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, administered by Russia, claimed by Japan;
• maritime dispute with Norway over portion of the Barents Sea;
• Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined;
• potential dispute with Ukraine over Crimea;
• Estonia claims over 2,000 sq km of Russian territory in the Narva and Pechora regions;
• the Abrene section of the border ceded by the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic to Russia in 1944;
• has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation

none

• boundary with China in dispute;
• territorial dispute with Kyrgyzstan on northern boundary in Isfara Valley area;
• Afghanistan's and other foreign support to Tajik rebels based in northern Afghanistan

Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined

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border with Guatemala in dispute; talks to resolve the dispute are stalled

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US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease

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• land boundary dispute with Honduras mostly resolved by 11 September 1992 International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision;
• with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, ICJ referred to an earlier agreement in this century and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua likely would be required

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border with Belize in dispute; talks to resolve the dispute are stalled

claims US-administered Navassa Island

• land boundary dispute with El Salvador mostly resolved by 11 September 1992 International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision;
• with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, ICJ referred to an earlier agreement in this century and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua likely would be required

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claimed by Haiti

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• territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank;
• with respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) referred the disputants to an earlier agreement in this century and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required

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• the Albanian Government supports protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders;
• Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Serbian Republic;
• Albanians in Macedonia claim discrimination in education, access to public sector jobs and representation in government;
• Albania is involved in a bilaterlal dispute with Greece over border demarcation, the treatment of Albania's ethnic Greek minority, and migrant Albanian workers in Greece

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• as of January 1995, Bosnian Government and Bosnian Serb leaders remain far apart on territorial and constitutional solutions for Bosnia;
• the two sides did, however, sign a four-month cessation of hostilities agreement effective January 1;
• the Bosnian Serbs continue to reject the Contact Group Plan submitted by the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Russia, and accepted by the Bosnian Government, which stands firm in its desire to regain lost territory and preserve Bosnia as a multiethnic state within its current borders;
• Bosnian Serb forces control approximately 70% of Bosnian territory

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Ethnic Serbs have occupied UN protected areas in eastern Croatia and along the western Bosnia and Herzegovinian border

• Liechtenstein claims restitution for l,600 square kilometers of Czech territory confiscated from its royal family in 1918;
• Sudeten German claims for restitution of property confiscated in connection with their expulsion after World War II versus the Czech Republic claims that restitution does not preceed before February 1948 when the Communists seized power;
• unresolved property issues with Slovakia over redistribution of property of the former Czechoslovak federal government

Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Iceland, Ireland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area)

claims over 2,000 sq km of Russian territory in the Narva and Pechora regions - based on boundary established under the 1921 Peace Treaty of Tartu

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• Madagascar claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island;
• Comoros claims Mayotte;
• Mauritius claims Tromelin Island;
• Seychelles claims Tromelin Island;
• Suriname claims part of French Guiana;
• Mexico claims Clipperton Island;
• territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie Land);
• Saint Pierre and Miquelon is focus of maritime boundary dispute between Canada and France

none

source of occasional friction between Spain and the UK

• complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Turkey in Aegean Sea;
• Cyprus question;
• dispute with The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia over name, symbols, and certain constitutional provisions;
• Greece is involved in a bilateral dispute with Albania over border demarcation, the treatment of Albania's ethnic Greek minority, and migrant Albanian workers in Greece

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Gabcikovo Dam dispute with Slovakia

Northern Ireland question with the UK; Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area)

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the Abrene section of border ceded by the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic to Russia in 1944

• claims 1,600 square kilometers of Czech territory confiscated from its royal family in 1918;
• the Czech Republic insists that restitution does not go back before February 1948, when the Communists seized power

dispute with Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) over the position of the Nemunas (Nemen) River border presently located on the Lithuanian bank and not in midriver as by international standards

none

Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration

• certain territory of Moldova and Ukraine - including Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina - are considered by Bucharest as historically a part of Romania;
• this territory was incorporated into the former Soviet Union following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1940

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dispute with Greece over name, symbols, and certain constitutional provisions

territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land); maritime boundary dispute with Russia over portion of Barents Sea

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sovereignty over Timor Timur (East Timor Province) disputed with Indonesia

• certain territory of Moldova and Ukraine - including Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina - are considered by Bucharest as historically a part of Romania;
• this territory was incorporated into the former Soviet Union following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1940

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• Sandzak region bordering northern Montenegro and southeastern Serbia - Muslims seeking autonomy;
• disputes with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia over Serbian populated areas;
• Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Serbian Republic

Gabcikovo Dam dispute with Hungary; unresolved property issues with Czech Republic over redistribution of former Czechoslovak federal property

dispute with Croatia over fishing rights in the Adriatic and over some border areas; the border issue is currently under negotiation

Gibraltar question with UK; Spain controls five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco - the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which Morocco contests, as well as the islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas

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• certain territory of Moldova and Ukraine - including Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina - are considered by Bucharest as historically a part of Romania;
• this territory was incorporated into the former Soviet Union following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1940;
• potential dispute with Russia over Crimea;
• has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation

• Northern Ireland question with Ireland;
• Gibraltar question with Spain;
• Argentina claims Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas);
• Argentina claims South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands;
• Mauritius claims island of Diego Garcia in British Indian Ocean Territory;
• Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and Ireland (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area);
• territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory)

territorial dispute with Qatar over the Hawar Islands; maritime boundary with Qatar

• 1974 hostilities divided the island into two de facto autonomous areas, a Greek area controlled by the Cypriot Government (59% of the island's land area) and a Turkish-Cypriot area (37% of the island), that are separated by a UN buffer zone (4% of the island);
• there are two UK sovereign base areas within the Greek Cypriot portion of the island

West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli occupied with interim status subject to Israeli/Palestinian negotiations - final status to be determined

Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in 1990 but are still trying to work out written agreements settling outstanding disputes from their eight-year war concerning border demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom of navigation and sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway; Iran occupies two islands

in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE:

• Tunb as Sughra (Arabic), Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek (Persian) or Lesser Tunb, and Tunb al Kubra (Arabic), Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg (Persian) or Greater Tunb;
• it jointly administers with the UAE an island in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE, Abu Musa (Arabic) or Jazireh-ye Abu Musa (Persian);
• in 1992 the dispute over Abu Musa and the Tunb islands became more acute when Iran unilaterally tried to control the entry of third country nationals into the UAE portion of Abu Musa island, Tehran subsequently backed off in the face of significant diplomatic support for the UAE in the region, but in 1994 it increased its military presence on the disputed islands;
• periodic disputes with Afghanistan over Helmand water rights;
• Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined

• Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in 1990 but are still trying to work out written agreements settling outstanding disputes from their eight-year war concerning border demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom of navigation and sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway;
• in November 1994, Iraq formally accepted the UN-demarcated border with Kuwait which had been spelled out in Security Council Resolutions 687 (1991), 773 (1993), and 883 (1993);
• this formally ends earlier claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and Warbah islands;
• potential dispute over water development plans by Turkey for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers