Who owns the rock in the Arctic, the lighthouse on the island and other unusual disputes over territory

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In world history, there are many cases when, because of the territory claimed by one or several states, conflicts flared up and even wars broke out. Disputes can arise due to cartographic errors or geographic anomalies, when a completely inconspicuous library is forced to work on the territory of two countries. But sometimes there are also very strange territorial confrontations.

Liberland

Surprisingly, on the border between Serbia and Croatia there is a small piece of land with an area of 7 square kilometers, which until recently was not claimed by any of the neighboring states. Croatia declares that the site belongs to Serbia, and this country is in no hurry to recognize its territory.

As a result, in 2015, Czech political activist Vit Jedlichka proclaimed the creation of a new micro-state located in the disputed territory, the “Free Republic of Liberland”. The activist himself appointed President, Minister of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs and Justice.

At the same time, the self-proclaimed president was detained by the Croatian authorities for illegal border crossing. The territory, according to the authorities of the two states, should go to Serbia or Croatia, but not to a third party and an incomprehensible virtual state.

Kurile Islands

For more than half a century, the dispute over the ownership of the Kuril Islands, captured by Soviet troops back in 1945, has been going on. Even the declaration signed in 1956, according to which hostilities between the two countries cease, did not clarify the Kuril Islands. In the declaration, the USSR transferred two islands to Japan after the conclusion of a peace treaty. But it was never signed due to US threats to give Japan another island - Okinawa. As a result, the peace treaty has not been signed today.

Marble hill

This small area is claimed by Manhattan and the Bronx, two boroughs of New York. in 1895, the Harlem and Hudson Rivers were connected by a Harlem shipping canal that separated northern Manhattan and turned Marble Hill into an island. The area was separated from the Bronx by the old bed of Spyten Dive Creek. In 1914, the old stream was filled up and in fact Marble Hill became part of the Bronx, but legally belongs to Manhattan. For 70 years, the two districts waged an endless dispute between themselves, until in 1984 a petition from the residents of Marble Hill was satisfied and its permanent and indestructible ownership of Manhattan was announced.

Hans Island

This small uninhabited island, and in fact - a rock in the Arctic, is claimed by Denmark and Canada. At the same time, disputes have been going on since 1933, but they are being resolved in a diplomatic manner. However, since the 1980s, a Canadian or Danish flag alternately appears on the rock, and a bottle of alcohol next to it.

If the Canadian flag flies on Hans Island, it means that you can find a bottle of Canadian whiskey near it, but if the Danish flag flies, then a bottle of schnapps will certainly be nearby. These periodic “seizures” of the disputed territory were called “intelligent war”.

Lighthouse Merket

This lighthouse was built in 1885 by the Finns on Swedish territory on the island of Merket. The choice of location was not accidental and had nothing to do with the seizure of foreign lands. It was just the only site where waves and ice could not destroy the lighthouse. And the two states were even able to come to an agreement between themselves, however, it took a century.

In 1985, the territory where the building is located was officially annexed to Finland through an elementary redrawing of the border into a Z-shape. True, the lighthouse itself was abandoned back in 1977.

Spratly Islands

For various reasons, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia (and to a lesser extent Brunei) consider these disparate islands important enough to claim them. Some went so far as to establish a military presence on them and even tried to colonize them. The reason for the dispute is not only a favorable geographic location, but also the alleged deposits of oil and gas in the archipelago.

At the same time, all the applicants managed to "equip" their own territories of the archipelago over the years of the conflict. Itu Aba, with an area of 0.46 square kilometers, is the largest of the islands and is currently occupied by Taiwan, which has a small airport. The Philippine military was forced to artificially expand the island of Pag-asa, setting up an airstrip on its territory and providing free land, housing, guaranteed work and food supplies to any civilian wishing to come and live on the island.

Malaysia made its Layang Layang a place for a tourist diving resort, the PRC did not stand on ceremony and exhibited a huge cement block with a raised metal frame and a two-story building on top of Gaven Reefs. At the very top of the bizarre design is a Chinese flag. Brunei has created a fishing area that covers the southern part of the archipelago. However, each applicant country maintains its military presence on the islands and no one intends to concede.

Siachen glacier

Since 1984, Indian and Pakistani troops have been occupying positions on the Siachen Glacier in the Himalayas. And despite a ceasefire in 2003, tensions remain on the world's highest battlefield. Initially, this territory was not marked by representatives of the UN, since no one could have imagined that someone would claim these barren lands high in the mountains.

In fact, even today, India controls the Siachen glacier and all its tributaries, as well as all the main passes and Saltoro ridges. Pakistan, meanwhile, holds positions at lower altitudes along the spurs of the Saltoro Ridge. Neither India nor Pakistan intend to recall their servicemen, about three thousand people from each side.

March 2, 1969 the PRC military secretly infiltrated the Damansky Island belonging to the Land of the Soviets and opened fire. Analysts predicted the darkest outcomes, including a nuclear strike. What caused the invasion and how did this conflict end?