| Disputes - international Country profile category: Transnational Issues |
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y

Afghanistan: | support to Islamic militants worldwide by some factions; question over which group should hold Afghanistan's seat at the UN
Albania: | the Albanian Government supports protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders but has downplayed them to further its primary foreign policy goal of regional cooperation; Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Yugoslavia; Albanians in The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia claim discrimination in education, access to public-sector jobs, and representation in government
Algeria: | part of southeastern region claimed by Libya; Algeria supports exiled West Saharan Polisario Front and rejects Moroccan administration of Western Sahara
American Samoa: | none
Andorra: | none
Angola: | none
Anguilla: | none
Antarctica: | Antarctic Treaty freezes claims (see Antarctic Treaty Summary in Government type entry); sections (some overlapping) claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, 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 and Russia reserve the right to do so); no claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west
Antigua and Barbuda: | none
Arctic Ocean: | some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
Argentina: | claims UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); claims UK-administered South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica partially overlaps British and Chilean claims
Armenia: | Armenia supports ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in the longstanding, separatist conflict against the Azerbaijani Government; traditional demands regarding former Armenian lands in Turkey have subsided
Aruba: | none
Ashmore and Cartier Islands: | none
Atlantic Ocean: | some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
Australia: | territorial claim in Antarctica (Australian Antarctic Territory)
Austria: | minor disputes with Czech Republic and Slovenia over nuclear power plants and post-World War II treatment of German-speaking minorities
Azerbaijan: | Armenia supports ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in the longstanding, separatist conflict against the Azerbaijani Government; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan
Bahamas, The: | none
Bahrain: | in March of 2001, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarded the Hawar Islands to Bahrain and also adjusted Bahrain's maritime boundary with Qatar
Baker Island: | none
Bangladesh: | a portion of the boundary with India is indefinite; exchange of 151 enclaves along border with India subject to ratification by Indian parliament; dispute with India over South Talpatty/New Moore Island
Barbados: | none
Bassas da India: | claimed by Madagascar
Belarus: | none
Belgium: | none
Belize: | Guatemala periodically asserts claims to territory in southern Belize; to deter cross-border squatting, both states in 2000 agreed to a "line of adjacency" based on the de facto boundary, which is not recognized by Guatemala
Benin: | none
Bermuda: | none
Bhutan: | refugee issue over the presence in Nepal of approximately 98,700 Bhutanese refugees, 90% of whom are in seven United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camps
Bolivia: | has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884; dispute with Chile over Rio Lauca water rights
Bosnia and Herzegovina: | none
Botswana: | none
Bouvet Island: | none
Brazil: | none
British Indian Ocean Territory: | the Chagos Archipelago is claimed by Mauritius and Seychelles
British Virgin Islands: | none
Brunei: | possibly involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone that encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands, but has not publicly claimed the island
Burkina Faso: | none
Burma: | sporadic border hostilities with Thailand over border alignment and ethnic Shan rebels operating in cross-border region
Burundi: | none
Cambodia: | portions of boundary with Vietnam are disputed; parts of border with Thailand are indefinite
Cameroon: | delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, is complete and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; tripartite maritime boundary and economic zone dispute with Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria is currently before the ICJ
Canada: | maritime boundary disputes with the US (Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Machias Seal Island)
Cape Verde: | none
Cayman Islands: | none
Central African Republic: | none
Chad: | delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, has been completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria
Chile: | Bolivia has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884; dispute with Bolivia over Rio Lauca water rights; territorial claim in Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps Argentine and British claims
China: | most of boundary with India in dispute; dispute over at least two small sections of the boundary with Russia remains to be settled, despite 1997 boundary agreement; portions of the boundary with Tajikistan are indefinite; 33-km section of boundary with North Korea in the Paektu-san (mountain) area is indefinite; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary agreement with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin awaits ratification; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does Taiwan
Christmas Island: | none
Clipperton Island: | none
Cocos (Keeling) Islands: | none
Colombia: | maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela in the Gulf of Venezuela; territorial disputes with Nicaragua over Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank
Comoros: | claims French-administered Mayotte; the island of Anjouan (Nzwani) has moved to secede from Comoros
Congo, Democratic Republic of the: | the Democratic Republic of the Congo is in the grip of a civil war that has drawn in military forces from neighboring states, with Uganda and Rwanda supporting the rebel movements that occupy much of the eastern portion of the state; most of the Congo river boundary with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area)
Congo, Republic of the: | most of the Congo river boundary with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Stanley Pool/Pool Malebo area)
Cook Islands: | none
Coral Sea Islands: | none
Costa Rica: | legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on border with Nicaragua
Cote d'Ivoire: | none
Croatia: | Croatia and Italy made progress toward resolving a bilateral issue dating from World War II over property and ethnic minority rights; progress with Slovenia on discussions of adjustments to land boundary, but problems remain in defining maritime boundary in Gulf of Piran; Croatia and Yugoslavia are negotiating the status of the strategically important Prevlaka Peninsula, which is currently under a UN military observer mission (UNMOP)
Cuba: | US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease
Cyprus: | 1974 hostilities divided the island into two de facto autonomous areas, a Greek Cypriot area controlled by the internationally recognized 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 mostly within the Greek Cypriot portion of the island
Czech Republic: | Liechtenstein's royal family claims restitution for 1,600 sq km of land in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1918; individual Sudeten German claims for restitution of property confiscated in connection with their expulsion after World War II; Austria has minor dispute with Czech Republic over nuclear power plants and post-World War II treatment of German-speaking minorities
Denmark: | Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Iceland and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area); dispute with Iceland over the Faroe Islands fisheries median line boundary within 200 NM; disputes with Iceland, the UK, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM
Djibouti: | none
Dominica: | none
Dominican Republic: | none
Ecuador: | none
Egypt: | Egypt asserts its claim to the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km under partial Sudanese administration that is defined by an administrative boundary which supersedes the treaty boundary of 1899
El Salvador: | with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua likely would be required
Equatorial Guinea: | tripartite maritime boundary and economic zone dispute with Cameroon and Nigeria is currently before the ICJ; maritime boundary dispute with Gabon because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay
Eritrea: | as a result of the 12 December 2000 peace agreement ending a two-year war with Ethiopia, the UN will administer a 25-km wide temporary security zone within Eritrea until a joint boundary commission delimits and demarcates a final boundary
Estonia: | Estonian and Russian negotiators reached a technical border agreement in December 1996 which has not been signed nor ratified by Russia as of February 2001
Ethiopia: | most of the southern half of the boundary with Somalia is a Provisional Administrative Line; as a result of the 12 December 2000 peace agreement ending a two year war with Eritrea, the UN will administer a 25-km wide temporary security zone within Eritrea until a joint boundary commission delimits and demarcates a final boundary; dispute over alignment of boundary with Eritrea led to armed conflict in 1998; a peace accord signed in December 2000 provides for UN-assisted arbitration and demarcation of the border
Europa Island: | claimed by Madagascar
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas): | claimed by Argentina
Faroe Islands: | Faroese are considering proposals for full independence
Fiji: | none
Finland: | none
France: | Madagascar claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island; Comoros claims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; territorial dispute between Suriname and French Guiana; territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie Land); Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu
French Guiana: | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa)
French Polynesia: | none
French Southern and Antarctic Lands: | "Adelie Land" claim in Antarctica is not recognized by the US
Gabon: | maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay
Gambia, The: | none
Gaza Strip: | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation
Georgia: | none
Germany: | none
Ghana: | none
Gibraltar: | source of friction between Spain and the UK
Glorioso Islands: | claimed by Madagascar
Greece: | complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Turkey in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Turkey; dispute with The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia over its name
Greenland: | none
Grenada: | none
Guadeloupe: | none
Guam: | none
Guatemala: | Guatemala periodically asserts claims to territory in southern Belize; to deter cross-border squatting, both states in 2000 agreed to a "line of adjacency" based on the de facto boundary, which is not recognized by Guatemala
Guernsey: | none
Guinea: | border incursions by Revolutionary United Front combatants from Sierra Leone; civil war in that country has engendered a massive flow of refugees to southern Guinea and Liberia
Guinea-Bissau: | none
Guyana: | all of the area west of the Essequibo (river) claimed by Venezuela; Suriname claims area between New (Upper Courantyne) and Courantyne/Kutari [Koetari] rivers (all headwaters of the Courantyne)
Haiti: | claims US-administered Navassa Island
Heard Island and McDonald Islands: | none
Holy See (Vatican City): | none
Honduras: | with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; the maritime boundary dispute with Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea is before the ICJ
Hong Kong: | none
Howland Island: | none
Hungary: | Gabcikovo/Nagymaros Dam dispute with Slovakia is before the ICJ
Iceland: | Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area); dispute with Denmark over the Faroe Islands fisheries median line boundary within 200 NM; disputes with Denmark, the UK, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM
India: | boundary with China in dispute; status of Kashmir with Pakistan; water-sharing problems with Pakistan over the Indus River (Wular Barrage); a portion of the boundary with Bangladesh is indefinite; exchange of 151 enclaves along border with Bangladesh subject to ratification by Indian parliament; dispute with Bangladesh over New Moore/South Talpatty Island
Indian Ocean: | some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
Indonesia: | Sipadan and Ligitan Islands in dispute with Malaysia
Iran: | 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: Lesser Tunb (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and Greater Tunb (called Tunb al Kubra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by Iran); Iran jointly administers with the UAE an island in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE (called Abu Musa in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Abu Musa in Persian by Iran) - over which Iran has taken steps to exert unilateral control since 1992, including access restrictions and a military build-up on the island; the UAE has garnered significant diplomatic support in the region in protesting these Iranian actions; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan
Iraq: | 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 although the government continues periodic rhetorical challenges; dispute over water development plans by Turkey for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
Ireland: | Northern Ireland issue with the UK (historic peace agreement signed 10 April 1998); disputes with Iceland, Denmark, and the UK over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM
Israel: | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights)
Italy: | Croatia and Italy made progress toward resolving a bilateral issue dating from World War II over property and ethnic minority rights
Jamaica: | none
Jan Mayen: | none
Japan: | islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo) disputed with South Korea; Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands) claimed by China and Taiwan
Jarvis Island: | none
Jersey: | none
Johnston Atoll: | none
Jordan: | none
Juan de Nova Island: | claimed by Madagascar
Kazakhstan: | Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan
Kenya: | administrative boundary with Sudan does not coincide with international boundary
Kingman Reef: | none
Kiribati: | none
Korea, North: | 33-km section of boundary with China in the Paektu-san (mountain) area is indefinite; Demarcation Line with South Korea
Korea, South: | Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo) disputed with Japan
Kuwait: | 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
Kyrgyzstan: | territorial dispute with Tajikistan on southwestern boundary in Isfara Valley area; periodic target of Islamic insurgents from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan
Laos: | parts of the border with Thailand are indefinite
Latvia: | draft treaty delimiting the boundary with Russia has not been signed; has not ratified 1998 maritime boundary agreement with Lithuania (primary concern is oil exploration rights)
Lebanon: | Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Lebanese government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as a part of Lebanon from which Hizballah conducts cross-border attacks
Lesotho: | none
Liberia: | large refugee population from civil war in Sierra Leone
Libya: | Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger and also a part of southeastern Algeria
Liechtenstein: | Liechtenstein's royal family claims restitution for 1,600 sq km of land in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1918
Lithuania: | Latvia has not ratified a 1998 maritime boundary agreement with Lithuania (primary concern is oil exploration rights); 1997 border agreement with Russia not yet ratified by Russia
Luxembourg: | none
Macau: | none
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of: | dispute with Greece over its name; February 2001 agreement with Yugoslavia settled alignment of boundary, stipulating implementation within two years
Madagascar: | claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island (all administered by France)
Malawi: | dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi)
Malaysia: | involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; Philippines have not fully revoked claim to Sabah State; Pulau Batu Putih (Pedra Branca Island) disputed with Singapore; Sipadan and Ligitan Islands in dispute with Indonesia
Maldives: | none
Mali: | none
Malta: | none
Man, Isle of: | none
Marshall Islands: | claims US territory of Wake Island
Martinique: | none
Mauritania: | none
Mauritius: | claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory); claims French-administered Tromelin Island
Mayotte: | claimed by Comoros
Mexico: | none
Micronesia, Federated States of: | none
Midway Islands: | none
Moldova: | separatist Transnistria region, comprising the area between the Nistru (Dniester) River and Ukraine, has its own de facto government, dominated by Moldovan Slavs
Monaco: | none
Mongolia: | none
Montserrat: | none
Morocco: | claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty is unresolved and the UN is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue; the UN-administered cease-fire has been 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
Mozambique: | none
Namibia: | none
Nauru: | none
Navassa Island: | claimed by Haiti
Nepal: | refugee issue over the presence in Nepal of approximately 98,700 Bhutanese refugees, 90% of whom are in seven United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camps
Netherlands: | none
Netherlands Antilles: | none
New Caledonia: | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu
New Zealand: | territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency)
Nicaragua: | 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 ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; maritime boundary dispute with Honduras in the Caribbean Sea is before the ICJ; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica
Niger: | Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger; delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, has been completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria
Nigeria: | delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, has been completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; dispute with Cameroon over land and maritime boundaries around the Bakasi Peninsula is currently before the ICJ; tripartite maritime boundary and economic zone dispute with Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon is currently before the ICJ
Niue: | none
Norfolk Island: | none
Northern Mariana Islands: | none
Norway: | territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land); Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute between Norway and Russia
Oman: | boundary with the UAE has not been bilaterally defined; northern section in the Musandam Peninsula is an administrative boundary
Pacific Ocean: | some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
Pakistan: | status of Kashmir with India; water-sharing problems with India over the Indus River (Wular Barrage)
Palau: | none
Palmyra Atoll: | none
Panama: | none
Papua New Guinea: | none
Paracel Islands: | occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam
Peru: | none
Philippines: | involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; claim to Malaysia's Sabah State has not been fully revoked
Pitcairn Islands: | none
Poland: | none
Puerto Rico: | none
Qatar: | in March of 2001, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarded the Hawar Islands to Bahrain and adjusted its maritime boundary with Qatar; a final border resolution was agreed to with Saudi Arabia in March of 2001
Reunion: | none
Romania: | none
Russia: | dispute over at least two small sections of the boundary with China remains to be settled, despite 1997 boundary agreement; islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan; Estonian and Russian negotiators reached a technical border agreement in December 1996, which has not been signed or ratified by Russia as of February 2001; draft treaty delimiting the boundary with Latvia has not been signed; 1997 border agreement with Lithuania not yet ratified; 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; Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute between Norway and Russia
Rwanda: | Rwandan military forces are supporting the rebel forces in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Saint Helena: | none
Saint Kitts and Nevis: | none
Saint Lucia: | none
Saint Pierre and Miquelon: | none
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: | none
Samoa: | none
San Marino: | none
Sao Tome and Principe: | none
Saudi Arabia: | a final border resolution was agreed to with Qatar in March of 2001; location and status of boundary with UAE is not final, de facto boundary reflects a 1974 agreement; a June 2000 treaty delimited the boundary with Yemen, but final demarcation requires adjustments based on tribal considerations
Senegal: | none
Seychelles: | claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory)
Sierra Leone: | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia
Singapore: | Pedra Branca Island (Pulau Batu Putih) disputed with Malaysia
Slovakia: | Gabcikovo/Nagymaros Dam dispute with Hungary is before the ICJ
Slovenia: | progress with Croatia on discussions of adjustments to land boundary, but problems remain in defining maritime boundary in Gulf of Piran; Austria has minor dispute with Slovenia over nuclear power plants and post-World War II treatment of German-speaking minorities
Solomon Islands: | none
Somalia: | most of the southern half of the boundary with Ethiopia is a Provisional Administrative Line; territorial dispute with Ethiopia over the Ogaden
South Africa: | 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
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands: | claimed by Argentina
Southern Ocean: | Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctic Treaty Summary in the Antarctica entry); sections (some overlapping) claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and UK; the US and most other nations do not recognize the maritime claims of other nations and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west
Spain: | Gibraltar issue 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
Spratly Islands: | all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone that encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands, but has not publicly claimed the island; in 2000, China joined ASEAN discussions towards creating a South China Sea "code of conduct" - a non-legally binding confidence building measure
Sri Lanka: | none
Sudan: | administrative boundary with Kenya does not coincide with international boundary; Egypt asserts its claim to the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km under partial Sudanese administration that is defined by an administrative boundary which supersedes the treaty boundary of 1899
Suriname: | area disputed by French Guiana between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa); area disputed by Guyana between New (Upper Courantyne) and Courantyne/Koetari [Kutari] rivers (all headwaters of the Courantyne)
Svalbard: | focus of a maritime boundary dispute between Norway and Russia
Swaziland: | 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
Sweden: | none
Switzerland: | none
Syria: | Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; dispute with upstream riparian Turkey over Turkish water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976
Tajikistan: | portions of Tajikistan's northern and western border with Uzbekistan and its eastern border with China have not been officially demarcated; territorial dispute with Kyrgyzstan on northern boundary in Isfara Valley area
Tanzania: | dispute with Malawi over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi); a resurvey of the latitudinal boundary with Uganda in 2000 revealed a 300-meter discrepancy that both sides are currently adjudicating
Thailand: | parts of the border with Laos are indefinite; parts of border with Cambodia are indefinite; sporadic border hostilities with Burma over border alignment and ethnic Shan rebels operating in cross-border region
Togo: | none
Tokelau: | none
Tonga: | none
Trinidad and Tobago: | none
Tromelin Island: | claimed by Madagascar and Mauritius
Tunisia: | none
Turkey: | complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Greece; dispute with downstream riparian states (Syria and Iraq) over water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; traditional demands regarding former Armenian lands in Turkey have subsided
Turkmenistan: | Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos Islands: | none
Tuvalu: | none
Uganda: | the Ugandan military is deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo in support of rebel forces in that country's civil war; a resurvey of the latitudinal boundary with Tanzania in 2000 revealed a 300-meter discrepancy that both sides are currently adjudicating
Ukraine: | 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
United Arab Emirates: | location and status of boundary with Saudi Arabia is not final, de facto boundary reflects 1974 agreement; boundary with Oman has not been bilaterally defined; northern section in the Musandam Peninsula is an administrative boundary; claims two islands in the Persian Gulf occupied by Iran: Lesser Tunb (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and Greater Tunb (called Tunb al Kubra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by Iran); claims island in the Persian Gulf jointly administered with Iran (called Abu Musa in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Abu Musa in Persian by Iran) - over which Iran has taken steps to exert unilateral control since 1992, including access restrictions and a military build-up on the island; the UAE has garnered significant diplomatic support in the region in protesting these Iranian actions
United Kingdom: | Northern Ireland issue with Ireland (historic peace agreement signed 10 April 1998); Gibraltar issue with Spain; Argentina claims Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); Argentina claims South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Mauritius and the Seychelles claim Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory); Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark and Iceland; territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean claim; disputes with Iceland, Denmark, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM
United States: | maritime boundary disputes with Canada (Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Machias Seal Island); US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims Navassa Island; US 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; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island
Uruguay: | none
Uzbekistan: | occasional target of Islamic insurgents based in Tajikistan and Afghanistan
Vanuatu: | claims Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia
Venezuela: | claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo (river); maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela
Vietnam: | maritime boundary with Cambodia not defined; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary agreement with China in the Gulf of Tonkin awaits ratification; Paracel Islands occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; portions of boundary with Cambodia are in dispute; agreement on land border with China was signed in December 1999, but details of alignment have not yet been made public
Virgin Islands: | none
Wake Island: | claimed by Marshall Islands
Wallis and Futuna: | none
West Bank: | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation
Western Sahara: | 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 in effect since September 1991
Yemen: | a June 2000 treaty delimited the boundary with Saudi Arabia, but final demarcation requires adjustments based on tribal considerations
Yugoslavia: | Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Yugoslavia; Croatia and Yugoslavia are negotiating the status of the strategically important Prevlaka Peninsula, which is currently under a UN military observer mission (UNMOP); the February 2001 agreement with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia settled alignment of boundary, stipulating implementation within two years
Taiwan: | involved in complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does China