Important Island Disputes in the World

Territorial disputes over islands are a major source of international tension. These conflicts often involve maritime boundaries, Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), access to shipping lanes, fishing rights, and subsea oil and gas reserves.

Major Island Disputes in the Asia-Pacific

Senkaku / Diaoyu Islands

• Location: East China Sea.
• Claimants: Japan, China, and Taiwan.
• Current Administration: Japan.
• Core Conflict: Japan bases its claim on an 1895 cabinet decision stating the islands were uninhabited and belonged to no country (terra nullius). China claims historical ownership dating back to the Ming Dynasty, arguing the islands were seized illegally. The surrounding waters have rich fishing grounds and potential oil and gas reserves.

Kuril Islands (Northern Territories)

• Location: Sea of Okhotsk, north of Hokkaido, Japan.
• Claimants: Russia and Japan.
• Current Administration: Russia.
• Core Conflict: Known as the Kuril Islands in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan. The four disputed islands are Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and the Habomai islets. The Soviet Union seized them at the end of World War II in 1945. This dispute has prevented the two nations from signing a formal peace treaty to officially end World War II.

Iturup is the largest of the four disputed southern Kuril islands and lies under Russian administration as part of Sakhalin Oblast.

On 13 August 2026, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup Island, prompting a strong protest from Japan.

Dokdo / Takeshima (Liancourt Rocks)

• Location: Sea of Japan (East Sea).
• Claimants: South Korea and Japan.
• Current Administration: South Korea.
• Core Conflict: South Korea has stationed a small security force on these volcanic islets since 1954. South Korea bases its claim on historical texts dating back to the Silla Kingdom. Japan argues it incorporated the islands in 1905, before its colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula.

Spratly Islands

• Location: South China Sea.
• Claimants: China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei.
• Current Administration: Multiple countries occupy different features.
• Core Conflict: This is a complex dispute over a collection of reefs, islets, and cays. China, Taiwan, and Vietnam claim the entire archipelago, while the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei claim parts of it. The islands sit near vital global trade routes and possess immense petroleum reserves.

Paracel Islands

• Location: Northern part of the South China Sea.
• Claimants: China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
• Current Administration: China.
• Core Conflict: This archipelago has been occupied entirely by China since a naval clash with South Vietnam in 1974. Both Vietnam and Taiwan continue to contest Chinese control.

Scarborough Shoal

• Location: South China Sea, east of the Philippines.
• Claimants: China, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
• Current Administration: China.
• Core Conflict: A triangular chain of reefs and rocks. China seized control of the shoal in 2012 following a maritime standoff. The Philippines filed a case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which ruled in 2016 that China’s historic claims had no legal basis under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). China rejected the ruling.

Important Island Disputes in Europe and the Americas

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

• Location: South Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Argentina.
• Claimants: United Kingdom and Argentina.
• Current Administration: United Kingdom.
• Core Conflict: Argentina claims sovereignty based on inheriting the islands from Spain in the 19th century. The UK bases its claim on continuous administration since 1833 and the principle of self-determination. In a 2013 referendum, the islanders voted overwhelmingly to remain a British Overseas Territory. This dispute led to the Falklands War in 1982.

Hans Island (Tartupaluk)

• Location: Nares Strait, between Canada’s Ellesmere Island and Greenland.
• Former Claimants: Canada and Denmark.
• Resolution: For nearly 50 years, the two nations engaged in the “Whiskey War”. Both sides took turns replacing the other’s flag and leaving behind bottles of domestic alcohol. In June 2022, Canada and Denmark signed an agreement to split the 1.3-square-kilometer barren island in half, creating a land border on the island.

Island Disputes in the Indian Ocean and Middle East

Chagos Archipelago

• Location: Central Indian Ocean.
• Claimants: United Kingdom and Mauritius.
• Current Administration: Transitioning under a bilateral treaty.
• Core Conflict: The UK detached the Chagos Islands from Mauritius in 1965 to create the British Indian Ocean Territory. The UK expelled the local population to establish a joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia. In 2019, the International Court of Justice declared the UK’s administration of the islands unlawful. In late 2024, the UK agreed to transfer sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius. A formal treaty was signed in May 2025, granting the UK a 99-year lease to continue operating the Diego Garcia base.

Mayotte

• Location: Mozambique Channel, Indian Ocean.
• Claimants: France and Comoros.
• Current Administration: France.
• Core Conflict: When Comoros voted for independence from France in 1974, Mayotte was the only island in the archipelago that voted to retain links with France. Comoros still claims Mayotte, but France administers it as an overseas department.

Abu Musa and the Tunb Islands

• Location: Strait of Hormuz, Persian Gulf.
• Claimants: Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
• Current Administration: Iran.
• Core Conflict: This group consists of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb. Iran seized control of the islands in 1971, just before the UAE became an independent nation. The UAE continues to claim sovereignty over these islands due to their strategic position near global oil shipping lanes.

Island Issues in South Asia

Kachatheevu Island

• Location: Palk Strait, between India and Sri Lanka.
• Parties: India and Sri Lanka.
• Current Administration: Sri Lanka.
• Core Conflict: A small, uninhabited island. India recognized Sri Lankan sovereignty over Kachatheevu under the 1974 Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime Agreement. The issue remains a subject of political debate in India regarding the traditional fishing rights of Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu who are regularly detained by the Sri Lankan Navy.

New Moore Island (South Talpatti)

• Location: Bay of Bengal, near the mouth of the Hariabhanga River.
• Former Claimants: India and Bangladesh.
• Resolution: Both nations claimed this sandbar island after its emergence following the Bhola cyclone in 1970. Due to rising sea levels, the island completely submerged by 2010. In 2014, the Permanent Court of Arbitration resolved the maritime boundary between India and Bangladesh, placing the underwater territory within Bangladesh’s jurisdiction.

Quick Reference Table of Global Island Disputes

Recent Context

On 13 August 2026, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup Island in the disputed southern Kurils. Japan protested, while Russia reaffirmed its sovereignty claim and warned of countermeasures amid ongoing tensions.

Rare Facts for Prelims

• UNCLOS relevance: Island disputes often decide not just land control but also EEZ rights over fisheries and seabed resources.
• Hans Island: The Canada-Denmark settlement created one of the world’s few new land borders on a previously disputed island.
• Diego Garcia: It is the key military site in the Chagos Archipelago and remains central to the sovereignty dispute.
• Mayotte status: Mayotte is the only island in the Comoros archipelago that chose to remain with France.
• Scarborough Shoal ruling: The 2016 arbitration under UNCLOS rejected China’s historic rights claim, but enforcement remains limited.
• New Moore Island: It is a rare example of a disputed island that disappeared entirely due to natural submergence.